Severus's Letter
by Bribles
Summary: Everyone knows that Snape regrets turning the Prophecy over to Voldemort.  What if, instead of going to Dumbledore about his mistake, he wrote a letter to his one time best friend?  How would that have effected the events that transpired?
1. Chapter 1

_**Severus's Letter**_

_**By Bribles**_

A/N: I love to read all different kinds of stories. I love stories where Severus is made out to be a good man. He is still a git in this story, but he proves himself to be a good git. I hope you like enough to recommend to people!

I do not own Harry Potter.

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><p>"Lily! Post is here!"<p>

James Potter's voice floated up the stairs of his home in Godric's Hollow. His wife, who was seven months pregnant with their soon-to-be baby boy, waddled down the stairs and sat at the table.

"I cannot wait for this child to come and greet the world," Lily remarked to James as she was trying to find a comfortable position in the hardback chairs around the kitchen table. Her stomach, which still had two months left of growing to do, was making it difficult for Lily to sit straight facing the table.

James just laughed, and reached over his wife's shoulder to lay his hand on her protruding stomach. His smile grew when he felt his son give a nice, strong kick.

"Opf!" Lily grabbed her stomach, rubbing the spot her son just kicked. "I know you're hungry, child, but please be patient. Your poor mother can only move so fast with you growing so much in so little time!"

_The last thing I need_, Lily thought to herself, is another impatient Potter man on my hands. _This child will learn patience if it's the last thing I do!_

"Here's your post, dear," James said, handing over a few letters addressed to Lily.

"Thank you, James. I was just wondering when my copy of that journal was going to come in. I thought the article about charming your child's shoes to teach the how to tie the laces was one of my better pieces," Lily said as she filled her plate with eggs and toast. The doctor told her to replace her pumpkin juice with milk, but Lily couldn't resist having just one glass in the morning. "I was thinking of sending another article in soon about transfiguring your….."

Lily's voice trailed off while she was looking at one of the letter's she received. The hand writing on the front was very familiar to her, but it couldn't be possible.

"What is it, dear" James asked, looking up from the Daily Prophet.

"Nothing," she said as she slid her finger under the seal to open the letter. She did not move while she read the letter.

_Lily,_

_I sincerely hope that you will at least read this letter before you try and burn it. However, knowing your temperament, I put charm on it so that you cannot harm the letter until you have finished reading it. You may do whatever you wish with it as soon as you have read and understood that I am putting my life on the line by writing to you. I know that you are worthy of having a Mastery in Charms and would find a way to destroy the letter if you really did not wish to read it. But I take confidence in the fact that I have now peaked your curiosity. Please read this letter and react quickly if you wish to save the lives of the ones that you hold dearest to your heart._

_I wish I could tell you this grave news in person, but would fear for my life if that was the case. Please understand that I never meant to harm you, and I am trying to right my wrong by giving you this information._

_The Dark Lord is after you. I know that this is something you have known for a while, and would think it completely irrelevant, but I assure you that this is not the case. He is going to be pursuing you and your family with an all new abandon. He must see your demise to assure his absolute power. You see, there was a prophecy made about your family._

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ..._

_I highly doubt that this is the prophecy in its entirety; however this is all I know. I do not know if it refers to your child or the Longbottom's child._

_This is the part where my hand starts to shake and my heart starts to beat. I am grateful that I do not have to be there to see your face as you read what I am about to confess to you, however cowardly I do sound._

_I am the reason that the Dark Lord will be pursuing you now. I, not knowing who the prophecy was about, delivered the message back to the Dark Lord to gain his favor and to save my life. I promise you, Lily, that if I knew for a second that the prophecy concerned you, or…..the ones that you love, I would not have told the Dark Lord anything. This is the wrong I am trying to right. It is too late to undo what I have already done, but I can try to make it better by giving you warning. Please, take your…..family and go into hiding. Do not be fooled that you are safe where you are._

_Also, I must tell you to not trust Pettigrew. I know that I have given you no reason to trust me, but I ask this of you. Do not place any faith in that rat. He will sell you out to the Dark Lord for the glory it would give him. While at some meetings, I have heard him bragging to the others that he will prove his worth when he is able to deliver the Potters on a silver platter. Sever all ties with him at once._

_Once again, I know that you have no reason to trust me after I threw our friendship away, but I'm trying to best to make up for it. If you will not accept my token of mending fences, than please just take this information and save yourself. And your family of course. I know that I may hate Potter, and I will probably despise the whelp that you are carrying that has Potter genes coursing through its blood, but I would never wish harm on them, for that would mean wishing harm upon you. And that is something I would never do. I hope you know that Lily._

_I myself am going to go into hiding. After the Dark Lord discovers that you are (hopefully) hidden, and that Pettigrew is useless for finding you, he will come after me. Pettigrew will make sure of it to protect his worthless hide._

_Please trust me on this Lily. I would do anything to save you, for I always have, and always will, love you, no matter how much you wish otherwise. Please live to see another day._

_One last note before I leave you to do as you see fit with this warning. I heard this prophecy about a fortnight ago, and just figured out that it points to you and Longbottom about two nights ago. Dumbledore is the one that heard the prophecy. If he has not told you of it yet, than please be as weary of him as you should be of Pettigrew. Waiting for someone to tell you the truth is a luxury that you cannot wait for. Just be sure to ask the right questions. _

_Please tell Potter that if he acts and finds this information to be correct, then our life debt is paid._

_Oh, and I figure now is a safe time to tell you that this parchment never had a charm placed upon it. I just wanted you to give me a chance._

_Hoping to see you alive,_

_Severus_

"Lils," James's voice brought her back. She couldn't stop staring at the words on the parchment. It just couldn't be true. Wordlessly she handed parchment to her husband, who read it with increasing worry.

"That-that- that insufferable, greasy git!"James exploded. "I'll get Snivellus! I wouldn't expect anything more from a damn Death Eater. I'll hang him! I'll-"

"James!" Lily exclaimed. "Calm down, please! You're stressing out me and the poor baby." She laid a hand on her stomach, rubbing in circles where she could feel the baby somersaulting.

"Sorry, dear," James said absentmindedly. "I just cannot believe that he turned us over to Voldemort! What am I saying? Of course I can believe it, I just never expected it. I thought that man at least had enough respect for _you_ to not to do anything to harm us."

"James, what are we going to do about this?" Lily asked her husband.

"Obviously we have to take this seriously. We will have to hunker down and go into hiding. I hate the thought of doing anything Snivellus suggested, but I need to do what's best for my family. I'll floo Sirius, and tell him we have to move to plan B. He'll get Dumbledore ready. I have to put my call into work. And we have to do this as fast as possible."

"Did you read the entire letter?"

"Well, no I didn't get much past the part where he said that he sold us to Voldemort," James admitted.

"Finish reading."

James picked up the letter once more, and picked up reading where he left off. Lily watched the color drain from his face. His hands were shaking, and Lily watched as the paper fell out of his hands and floated to the floor.

"That can't be true," James whispered. "I can't believe that. He's lying! He has to be! Peter wouldn't betray us! He wouldn't! We swore a pact!"

"Oh, James," Lily wrapped her arms around her husband, as he laid his head on her shoulder. No tears were shed. They were too much in shock for that.

"What are we going to do?" Lily repeated after a few minutes of silence.

"I have to talk to Peter. I cannot take what he said without talking to one of my best friends first. Then we have to talk to Dumbledore. I'm sure he wasn't the one who overheard this, and if he was, he has a very good reason for not telling us about it before."

Lily just nodded, trying to calm her husband. Her mind was spinning a thousand thoughts a second. Unlike James, she did not grow up in the Wizarding World. She did not know about Dumbledore's defeat of Grindelwald when she was younger, or grow up hearing how great and powerful Dumbledore was. She was skeptical about knowing that Dumbledore knew about this…prophecy and did not tell them. She could see Dumbledore for what he was. She saw him as a powerful, yet old man who tried to control everyone and make himself look all powerful and all knowing. Yet she did not say any of this to James, because he grew up hearing how wonderful and powerful Dumbledore was, and how he must always be right. She knew that James would not take her word on it, and must see the downfall of Dumbledore for himself.

"What should we do first? Should we contact Sirius and Remus and have them bring Peter here for us to talk to?" Lily asked James, still holding him in her arms.

"Yes. We should handle Peter first, and then we can go and talk to Dumbledore. We have to get their side of this story," James told Lily. "I know you are inclined to trust that man, Lily, but I am not. I know I was a right prick in school, but he was not any better. He was your first…friend, I understand that. But he has changed. He joined Voldemort, Lils. He is not the same man you used to know."

Lily couldn't help but think differently. If he was not the same man, why was he still trying to protect her? Why bother warning them at all? She knew that there was no love lost between her husband and her once best friend, but she wanted to believe that Severus was still the same gentle man underneath the tough Death Eater garb.

She just couldn't help but think to herself, what would have happened if Severus did not warn them? She knew that it was only a matter of time that James and she would have gone into hiding anyways. Once her baby was born, she knew that she would have done anything to keep her child safe.

She watched as James got up and went to the drawer and got out his mirror. Sirius was on a mission for the Order, and, fortunately, Remus was with him. She listened as James asked Sirius and Remus to collect Peter and make their way over here. She heard the worry in Sirius's voice when James would not tell him what was wrong. She knew that they would be over here within the hour. Sirius had the same distain for Severus that James had. Remus was more tolerant. He almost seemed guilty when he found himself around Severus. Lily assumed that it had to do with almost killing Severus when they were in school.

But Severus also told them about Peter. Lily and James had talked about plan B extensively. They had talked about who would have been the best choice to have for their secret keeper. Sirius was the most logical choice, being James's best mate. And Remus, being closer to Lily, was also an obvious choice. They had been leaning towards Peter, because no one would have thought that they would have put their lives in the hands of someone who appeared so weak.

She shuddered to think about what would have happened if they did go with Peter. She had little doubt that Severus would lie about Peter being at those meetings. But part of her did not want to believe that it was true. Admitting that it was true meant that they were in even more danger than they would have been in. Before this, they were some of the most anti-Voldemort fighters and he wanted them dead to just prove a point. Now, he was after them for their child because of some stupid prophecy saying that their child was the one who was going to defeat him. She just wanted to sit down and cry at it all.

But she was Lily Evens Potter! She would not bow down and just let them try and harm her family. She will fight them with all that she is worth. She would have her husband by her side, and their friends helping and fighting with them as well. If it took her entire lifetime, she would make this world save for her son to walk and learn and play in.

She would live to see her baby born, his first steps, his first words. She would laugh at his first crush, and cry when he would bring home is first girlfriend. And, throughout all of these firsts, she would thank Severus Snape every day for giving her the warning to be able to protect her family.

"Lily!" James called from the front door. "The guys are here!"

She stood up, with much difficulty. She just sighed and patted her stomach. She knew that her child must be laughing at all the trouble he was causing her. Shaking her head, she followed James, who had Sirius and Remus bring the unsuspecting Peter into their downstairs study. She was following at a slower pace, waddling her way back to the table, where Severus's letter lay on the floor, untouched.

She picked it back up. Rereading the last few lines that Severus wrote, she grimly smiled. Silently thanking Severus, she tapped her wand on the parchment and watched as a small vial filled with a clear liquid appeared. A small note was wrapped around the vial. She picked it off and read what was written.

_Three drops will make him spill his secrets. Five drops will have him spill everything else. Make sure to ask the right questions._

She grabbed an eye dropper out of one of her cooking drawers. With a new purpose, she strode into the study where her boys already had Peter tied to a chair. When they looked up at her, she watched the feral grins spread across their faces as she showed them the vial. Taking the eye dropper out of her pocket, she walked towards Peter slowly. Sirius grabbed his head and Remus forced his jaw open. She squeezed five drops of the liquid onto his tongue, saw his eyes go out of focus.

James started the questioning. Just simple ones at first, his name, what house he was in at Hogwarts. Then came the one everyone was waiting for.

"Were you planning on betraying us to Voldemort?"

"Yes."

Falling into a chair, she knew now, without a doubt, everyone in this room would now respect the name of Severus Snape. He saved all their lives with a single act of kindness. He saved their lives with a letter.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed this story. I cannot promise that there will be more to follow. I don't want to promise a chapter story and not deliver, so I make all of them able to stand alone. However, I may add another chapter if I am able to write more.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I decided to post another chapter. I'm thinking of making this into a short story, but the chapters will be slow coming out, and, again, I promise nothing. I do hope that you enjoy reading, and I would love it if you would review and give me any suggestions you have.**

**Enjoy the second chapter of Severus's Letter.**

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><p>Lily couldn't take anymore. She stepped outside of the study, shutting the door. The voice of James finishing the interrogation floated out after her. Walking slowly, well, waddling slowly, she went to sit down on the couch in the living room. She was at a loss for words. She couldn't fathom the fact that Peter would have betrayed them to Voldemort. Her husband, her son, she would have lost them both. All because of that…that <em>rat<em>! She laid her head in her hands.

Then another thought occurred to her. One that she was trying to avoid thinking about. What were they going to do about Dumbledore? She knew that James wanted to think that it was a mistake, that Dumbledore was innocent. But she didn't think that he was. Dumbledore was…unique, and there was no way one could mistake someone else for Dumbledore. So, if Severus said that it was Dumbledore that the prophecy was told to, then she believed him.

The only question that remained was why he hid the prophecy from them for this long? Why did they have to learn about it from her one time best friend?

Footsteps coming out of the study interrupted her thoughts. She watched as James, followed by Sirius and Remus, walked out. She didn't have to look at their faces to see that they were hurt and betrayed. It was like you could cut the air with a knife.

"I just can't believe it," James voice whispered in the silence of the room. Sirius and Remus just collapsed onto the chairs next to the couch.

"What would have happened? What would we have done if we went with him as a Secret Keeper? What would have happened to you guys? And our son? Would we have all died? Would Peter have regretted what he did? Would Dumbledore have saved us?"

At that last one, Lily couldn't help but snort. When the three guys turned to look at her incredulously, she looked back at them defiantly.

"What?"

"What do you mean Lily?" Sirius asked. "You don't think Dumbledore would have come to rescue us? What causes this lack of faith in our wonderful headmaster?"

"What did James tell you when he asked you to come here?"

"Well, not much," Remus admitted softly when Sirius wouldn't reply. "Just that he had reason to suspect Peter of trying to betray you, which is obviously correct. But he doesn't have to tell us anything. James is our best mate. We trust him."

"Exactly. But did James tell you where he got the reason to suspect that Peter might betray us?" Lily asked them. She watched as both men shook their heads. Sighing, she turned to her husband, fire sparking in her eyes.

"Why wouldn't you admit where you got the information, James?" she asked quietly. "Are you that ashamed? Why won't you give the credit to the person who deserves it?"

James couldn't take that soft, hurt voice that his wife was using. While she was much scarier when she was yelling and her temper got out of hand, that quiet talking hurt James much more than her temper ever could. He couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes when he replied.

"I didn't think that it mattered much. All that mattered was that he told us and we took care of it."

"He who?" Sirius asked, not seeing the look the hurt look Lily gave James.

No one spoke. Lily was looking at James expectantly, James was looking down at the floor, while Remus and Sirius was looking back and forth between the two. Then, James gave a huge sigh.

"We got the tip about the rat in a letter. The letter was from one of Lily's old friends," James started.

"Well that's not bad," Sirius stated. "Why would you be ashamed to tell us that?"

"Because the friend was Snape."

Nothing happened for a full second. Then, before Lily's eyes, Sirius sprang up, a curse on his lips, before Remus pulled him back down. James just stood there, not looking at his best mates or his wife.

"What would make you believe that slimy git?" Sirius roared, still being held down by Remus. "We're in there questioning one of our mates because _Snivellus_ said to? Are you off your rocker?"

"Hold it right there Sirius Orion Black!" Lily exclaimed, shutting Sirius out of his rant and causing both James and Remus to have whiplash turning their heads to look at her in wonder. "Did you so easily forget what you just learned in the past half hour before you learned about Severus? Just because it was him to tell us to question Peter doesn't change the fact that we just learned that one of our own was going to _betray_ us! Or the fact that without Severus shedding light onto this situation, we would have made Peter our secret keeper and would have lost our lives because of it? Severus just saved us! He also saved your worthless hide. What would you have done if we had _died_? You would have gone off without thinking trying to track him down and would have probably gotten yourself hurt or killed in the process. And poor Remus would have been the worst off because he wouldn't be able to find work. We owe our lives to Severus, so don't you DARE say anything about him!"

The guys watched as Lily flopped down into a chair and started to rub her stomach. James did not worry about her or their child. She would often become upset, and then rub her stomach to calm their child down.

"I'm sorry Lily," Sirius said softly, after about three minutes had passed in silence. "I wasn't thinking. You're right that it doesn't matter how we got the information about the betrayal. What matters is that we found out about it before it was too late."

"But how did Snape end up giving you this information?" Remus questioned. He had been silent this whole time, not wanting to accept the fact that one of his pack had tried to harm the rest.

"He sent me a letter. He made some serious- sit down, you mangy mutt- accusations about a few people. We couldn't take this information lying down. So we called you two and asked you to help us."

"What else did he say in his letter, Lily?" Remus persisted. He could see her hesitate before she went to retrieve the letter to read it aloud to them.

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><p>Peter was still slumped unconscious in the Potters' downstairs study. The rest of the houses occupants were currently sitting in the living room in various states of shock. Sirius was, for once, speechless. Remus was holding his head in his hands. James and Lily were sitting together, trying to draw comfort from the other one. Even their child, who was normally an active baby, was staying still.<p>

Lily was still rubbing her stomach. She didn't want to alert James, but she was started to have small pains in her abdomen. But she was only seven months along. She thought that they just must be from being upset and yelling at Sirius earlier. She figured they would go away in a while.

"What are we going to do about Dumbledore?" Lily's voice broke the silence in the room. "Severus said that he saw Dumbledore there when he was…spying. So Dumbledore must know the rest of the prophecy. Why hasn't he told us?"

"He said he _thought_ he saw Dumbledore," Remus's weak attempt at arguing the point and protecting Dumbledore made Lily feel pity for the men in the room. They all had something to owe Dumbledore for. Remus would have never been able to go to school without Dumbledore's protections. James was raised to think the sun rose and fell with Dumbledore's words. And Sirius would follow whatever James thought.

"You all know how…_unique_ Dumbledore looks. Do you really think that anyone else could be mistaken for him?" Lily gently asked the guys. None of them could argue with her.

"He must have a good reason for not telling you about this sooner," Sirius's objection was next. "Why would he hide something this important from you? I'm sure if we just went and asked him about it, he would tell us his reason and we would all feel like gits for ever doubting Dumbledore."

"I don't know if we should approach him just yet," Lily murmured. "Severus said it has been over a month since he heard that part of the prophecy. I say that we wait it out and see when Dumbledore is going to tell us, if he ever does."

"Lils, please," James's hoarse voice cut through her. "I am trying to face the fact that one of my best mates was planning on betraying me, betraying us all. I don't want to face the fact that one of the only men I would blindly trust with my life might be hiding something from me. I can't take any more hurt tonight. Let's go to bed and sleep on it."

"What are we going to do about him?" Remus jerked his head in the direction of the study, before Lily could reply. No one offered up a solution.

"Why don't we lock him up in the basement which Remus normally occupies with his furry little problem?" Sirius suggested finally. "It has Silencing Charms on it, along with Unbreakable Charms and all the other wards that cover the house. He would be safe in there, until we figure out something else."

James just stood up, and started walking towards the study, and Sirius took that for agreement. He and Remus jumped up and followed James, training their wands on Peter as he floated in mid-air, bound with magic ropes and gagged. Lily didn't move as the three men made their way down into the basement. She couldn't hear as they dropped him unceremoniously on the floor, and locked the door with the strongest locking charms they knew. She couldn't see them raise their wands and cast a spell that would make Peter's animagus abilities inaccessible.

She just watched as her guys came back into the room. They were all exhausted, though none were willing to fold before the others. Nothing more could be gained from staying up and talking tonight. They just all needed rest.

"Why don't you two stay here for the night?" Lily suggested. "I'm sure it would make all of us feel safer. We can figure out what to do in the morning. Please?" she added when she saw they were about to object.

"Fine, but only to make you feel safe, Lils," Sirius replied, while Remus just nodded.

Lily allowed James to lead her to the bedroom after saying goodnight. She crawled into bed after him, and just rested her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating in time with hers. Soon, they were both off to sleep, not wanting to think about the days to come.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you take the time to tell me what you think. I know it's a bit droll, but I'm trying to set the scene, and not jump around like all the random thoughts in my head. Any suggestions are welcome. I love to know ways I can improve my writing and my story.**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So here's the third chapter in this story. I'm hoping that you all like it. I'm trying to keep the chapters the same length, so it doesn't look weird. This way, I'm not coming out with one short and one long chapter.

I hope you enjoy the third chapter of Severus's Letter!

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><p>"AHHHH!"<p>

Lily's scream echoed through the whole house. Her back arched a little off the bed, then collapsed back against it again. James, who was standing right beside her, just gripped her fingers tighter in his own, wishing he had thought to bring a pair of earmuffs. The ones that they use on the Mandrakes at school must be able to block her screams, right?

"It hurts!" Lily exclaimed. "James Potter, you are never touching me again! Do you hear me? NEVER! UHHHHH…" Her voice faded to a groan as another contraction pulsed through her body. Sweat poured off of her and the sheets beneath her were soaked. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to pant along with the pain. She was starting to regret not putting off the charm long enough for her to deliver at St. Mungo's rather than in her own room.

About a month and a half had passed since the discovery of Peter's betrayal. She wasn't due for another two weeks, but her baby was obviously not going to wait. He wanted to come and greet the world, and he wanted to do it at 11pm on the 30th of July.

"Lily, just think. Alice already went through this. She made it all in one piece. And her little boy was almost a stone. Just four pounds shy," James was trying to console his wife. He was rapidly losing the feeling in his fingers of his left hand, where she gripped him. "You can make it Lils! You're strong. Our child is almost here. Don't you want to greet him?"

"I WANT HIM OUT OF ME!" was Lily's declaration to James' words.

James didn't want Lily to know how nervous he was. She had been in labor for over three hours now, and the Healer still wasn't there. He knew that Sirius and he knew how to deliver a child, because of Auror training. But he wasn't in the right frame of mind to deliver his own child!

"Oi, James," Sirius's head peaked through the door. "The Healer won't be able to make it." He ducked fast as Lily threw a pillow at him.

"What do you MEAN the HEALER won't be able to MAKE IT? I'M HAVING A BABY HERE! THIS IS NOT SOME BROKEN LEG THAT CAN WAIT TO BE MENDED! AHHH!" She clutched at her stomach as another wave of contractions made themselves known. James used this opportunity to duck out of the room and talk to Sirius.

"Where is the Healer at?" He hissed at his best mate. Taking a step back, Sirius raised his hands in a giving up gesture.

"Hey! I'm just the messenger. I flooed her over two hours ago and she didn't answer. She just now got back to me. She says St. Mungo's is full of an emergency. According to her, it was an attack by a group of Death Eaters on a muggle town close to Diagon Alley."

James felt so lost since the decision was made to go into hiding. They had performed the Fidelius Charm to hide themselves within the walls of the house. Because of this, they had to take precautions, even though Lily's pregnancy was so far along. Their Healer had been wonderful so far, coming to the house via portkey to check on Lily and the baby. However, going into hiding also meant that James had to give up going to work. While Sirius knew the reason, his boss did not. He was currently doing paperwork from home that he was able to floo to his boss. While it was no secret that Voldemort was after his family, he didn't want anyone else to know about his family going into hiding. His boss believes that he is staying home full time with his wife because of complications with the pregnancy. But not being out in the field meant that James was out of the loop of what was happening with magical society. He no longer saw firsthand the attacks or went to stop them. Poor Sirius was the messenger boy.

James felt even more guilty were Sirius was involved. Since James was out on "maternity leave," Sirius was out of a partner and stuck on desk duty as well. And since the branch of Aurors that they were in worked on a need-to-know basis, they both didn't know anything. Sirius didn't find out about anything until after it happened, and even then, he found out about it from a third party source like St. Mungo's.

"OHHHHHHHH!"

Lily's moan brought both the men out of their pity party. James looked to Sirius with wide eyes.

"What am I going to do?"

"You have the training James," Sirius replied, while performing cleaning charms on both of their arms and hands. "Go in there and deliver my godson! Or, if you don't think you can, I will deliver him while you stay with Lily."

Sirius's smirk as he said that snapped James out of his panic. "Like hell you will see my wife naked! You stand with Lily and have your fingers crushed. I'm going to deliver my son!"

With that, both men rushed into the room, Sirius standing with Lily at her head, and James going around to the end of bed. Pushing the covers off his wife's lower half, he saw that she was ready to start pushing.

"Okay, Lils, this is it! When the next contraction hits, push with all strength you have!"

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><p>A short while later, James was holding the sleeping little bundle that was his son. He marveled at the fact that his son made it into the world at exactly midnight, 31st of July. He looked over at his wife, who also fell asleep, and smiled. He could hear Remus downstairs forcing Sirius to drink Skele-Grow for the bones in his hand. James chuckled softer at what transpired just an hour ago.<p>

_"Here he is Lily!" James crowed while he wrapped his son in a blanket, holding him against his chest. "Our son is born. He's perfect! What are we going to name him."_

_"Let me see him James," Lily sighed, exhausted, but the pain of her ordeal all but forgotten._

_Holding his son out to her, James almost screamed when Sirius scooped the baby out of his hands and danced around the room with him._

_"Look at my godson! Look at that tuff of hair on his head! Black as night, just like you James!" Sirius exclaimed, ignoring the murderous looks Lily was shooting him. "He's a right hairy little nudger! My godson is so hairy!"_

_"If you do not give me my son right now, Sirius Black, I will make sure that you ARE the genetic dead end of your line!" Sirius cowered under Lily's ferocious gaze at last, and gently handed her son to her._

_"I still say he's a hairy little sprog. That's what I'm going to call him. Hairy sprog."_

_Just settling for glaring at him, Lily turned her attention towards her newborn son. She couldn't help but see that Sirius was correct in the fact that her son did have a full head of black hair. And it already had the look that it was going to be as wild as his fathers' hair._

_"What do you think that we should name him, James?" Lily asked softly, while her son napped against her chest._

_"Obviously, I think we should name him James the Second," James grinned. "I'm serious! He looks just like me! James the Second it should be!"_

_"No! I will not have my son be second to anyone, James!" Lily told him._

_"Hey, can I hold my hairy sprog again?" Sirius pleaded with Lily. Looking him over, she handed him her sleeping son, but told him to stay close and to not dance around. Sirius settled for rocking his godson back and forth in his arms. He started singing to the baby, badly._

_"Rock- a-bye hairy sprog, on the tree top…" He crooned softly._

_"Will you stop calling my son hairy?" Lily snapped at Sirius. James just shook his head slowly._

_"Wait a sec, Lils. Padfoot may be onto something. Harry Potter. It does have a nice ring to it."_

_"We are NOT naming our son hairy!"_

_"Not hairy. Harry. H-A-R-R-Y."_

_Lily closed her mouth and thought for a moment. She hated to admit it, but James had a point. Harry Potter. It had a nice ring to it._

_"Harry James Potter," Lily nodded her head. James's eyes misted over._

_"Ha! You hear that, sprog! Your Uncle Padfoot had a good idea!" Sirius barked._

_"Give me my boy, Sirius."_

_"Yes, Lily."_

_"Lils, why not give him to me. You're exhausted. Get some rest. I'll wake you up, when Harry gets hungry."_

_Looking at her husband gratefully, Lily carefully handed over Harry to his father. She closed her eyes, and was soon asleep._

_"Sirius, can you go tell Remus and portkey to the healer and get the birth certificate so we can fill it out when Lily wakes up?"_

_"I'm on it, Prongs," Sirius stated, giving one last glance to little Harry before bolting out of the room._

James just gazed at his son. His son. He, James Potter, was a father. His only hope was that he was as good of a father as his father was to him. The door creaking open caused James to look away from his son towards the sound.

"Hey Moony," James called. "Come in and see the newest addition."

Seeing the reluctance in his friend's eyes, James sighed. Sometimes werewolves were so stubborn in what they thought.

"You're not going to hurt him, Moony. You are the gentlest person I know. Come hold your nephew."

Remus walked slowly into the room, both scared and trying not to wake up Lily. When he reached James, he just stood in front of him.

"Well he isn't going to float, Moony," James joked. "You need to hold him in your arms. Just copy what I'm doing."

Helping him to arrange his arms correctly, James gently laid Harry into Remus's arms. Gazing in wonderment, Remus didn't know what to do with himself. Gasping slightly, he watched as Harry opened his eyes. He just stared at the emerald green eyes that stared back at him.

"James," he whispered. James leaned over, and grinned. "Look at that. He did inherit something from his mother after all."

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><p>Across the land, inside the secret Ministry of Magic, the name of one Harry James Potter appeared in gold on a list of future students to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.<p>

And in the office of one Headmaster, that same name appeared in black across a parchment that had only one other name on it. The name of Neville Longbottom was also written in black, below the words of a prophesy.

The Headmaster of the school just stared in wonder. Then he grinned before turning to the perch where his imprisoned Phoenix usually sat. Frowning at the absence of the bird, he started muttering to himself.

"Now I must visit the Potters to inform them of their son's destiny. I will have to plant the idea that Remus is not worthy. Maybe drop some hints to Black letting him know that Remus was seen with Greyback. I have to find a way to splinter them apart. I have to have the Potter boy to myself to shape and mold. He must be trained to kill Voldemort my way."

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><p>James sat in his bed with his wife, who was currently feeding Harry. Both were unaware of the troubles their son would soon face. All they could see now was a bright future ahead of him. All thoughts of the partial prophesy were forgotten. Tomorrow would bring plenty of pain and problems but for now, the small family was content. James gave his wife a loving kiss, all he could do while their son was in her arms. Looking at his son's full head of black hair, he gently ran his hand through the soft locks. Seeing his son feeding greedly, he chuckled, softly whispering, "My little Harry."<p>

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><p>AN: What did you think? I hope everyone enjoyed it. I've had this scene in my head of how Harry got his name.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, I'm trying my best to get chapters out a bit faster now. As I don't have much time on my hands, I hope everyone enjoys what I have written so far.

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><p>Dumbledore was puzzled. As it wasn't often that this happened, he found it rather amusing…..at first. Now, he was just starting to get irritated. As soon as he saw the Potter boy's name appear on the list, he went to bed, planning on getting up bright and early to try and deliver the prophecy to the Potter's. However, he could not for the life of him remember where they lived. As great a man as Albus Dumbledore knew that that could mean only a very few things. And on the top of that list was the Fidelius Charm. Wondering why they would perform it so early and without his help disturbed him greatly. He needed them, most importantly their son, under his control.<p>

Giving a couple minutes' thought, he decided to try and owl Black. He knew that no owl would reach the Potters' under the Fidelius. But Black was not under the same protection. And he would surely deliver the letter to the Potters quickly. He hoped that whatever made them go under the Fidelius so early and without him was something simple and just a scare. He just hoped he could convince them to redo the charm and have them use Pettigrew as the Secret Keeper. That was the only way to get control of the child. Harry Potter was the only important one now. It mattered not what happened to the Potters and their friends.

Picking up a quill, he quickly composed a short letter to Black and sent it off with a school owl. Sighing, he looked at the empty perch in his office. It wasn't unusual for Fawkes to be out this long hunting, but the phoenix usually knew when Dumbledore had need of him, and the charms compelled him to be available when needed. He would have to reapply the charms when the bird made himself known again. Burning day was soon.

Little did he know, the phoenix's burning day was closer than previously thought. Fawkes was fighting the burning day, trying to make it somewhere safe until he was able to fly again. Losing the battle, he landed under a rock and took refuge while the fires ate his body.

Born again as a little chick, Fawkes still had his memories of all his previous lives. He knew that the man he was forcibly serving wasn't worthy of his help. The burning days always helped to shed the charms from his body, and without them, his mind was so much clearer. Knowing his rightful course, he chirped, and settled himself in for a short wait while his body grew back to its previous size.

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><p>Far away from the lands of Scotland, a new mother was trying desperately to figure out what was wrong with her newborn son. What would make him turn that shade of red? Was he sick? Did he get a burn? How would that be possible, he was barely a day old?<p>

"Oh what's wrong, baby boy? Don't scare your mummy like this! Tell me what's wrong!" she pleaded with Harry.

He just stared up from his crib, his face slowly turning redder.

"Hey love, I just came up here to see what was taking you…..Lily, are you alright?"

Lily just looked wordlessly at James, pleading with her eyes to figure out what was wrong with her son.

"Harry. James, something's wrong!"

"What?" He replied to his wife's butchered sentence. "What's wrong with Harry?"

"LOOK at him! He's all red!"

James peered into the crib, breathed deeply, and then smiled slowly. Turning to his wife, he started to chuckle. Looking at him like he was crazy, Lily just put her hands on her hips and waited for him to explain.

"Care to tell me what's so funny? Is our son in danger?" She demanded.

"No, but I think we will be," James replied. In response he gently picked up his son, and held him up to his wife's face. "Breathe."

Taking a small breath in, she quickly gagged.

"And therein lies your problem, my dear wife. We will eventually die a slow death due to this toxic gas our son produces. I say we give him about, oh, five more minutes to finish his business, and then just change him."

Lily just gave her husband that look that promised her ever growing temper would find a way to get back at him. She took her son from his father's arms and turned to go to the changing table. Taking a fresh nappy out, she proceeded to change her son for the first time.

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><p>James was sitting in the living room pondering his newest problem. He still could not look at his wife without laughing. Lily was the smartest witch-person- that James' knew. However, for her to not realize something so simple was wrong with Harry? It seemed that Lily was more nervous about being a mother than she let on. It was refreshing to know that she was in the same boat as him. He loved his wife with all him heart, but sometimes she could be a bit strong-headed when she wanted to push her knowledge onto others. He knew that she was still trying to prove herself after all these years. She was still insecure about being a Muggleborn.<p>

He knew that she was brilliant in anything she set out to do. But a baby was so much more than some project. She and he were now responsible for another life. Being an Auror, James was used to the pressure that came with that. He was charged with protecting any part of the wizarding world at any time. She was used to only worrying about friends and family. Sure, she helped her friends with their children, but having one of your own was proving to be more difficult than she ever thought.

James was broken out of his thoughts when the fireplace roared to life. Seeing his best mate's head sticking out of it, he jumped up from the couch while Sirius stepped through the fireplace. Taking one look at his friend's face, James instantly frowned.

"Get Lily in here, James. We have a problem."

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><p>"That-that-THAT BASTARD!" Lily raged. James and Sirius were currently huddling under the small coffee table in the living room, protecting their heads while Lily was throwing the same glass paperweight into the wall by the door. She would throw it, magically repair it, summon it to her, and then throw it again. What Lily didn't seem to realize was the fact that she was doing it all wandlessly.<p>

Remus then walked through the door, and promptly ducked as the paperweight flew right above his head.

"What the hell Lily!"

She didn't even answer him as she continued her ministrations abusing the wall. For an answer, Remus turned towards Sirius and James, who were gesturing from under the desk. Crawling under, Remus figured their magic must be compensating for them because he found that he has no difficulty fitting under the small table with his mates. He took the parchment that Sirius was offering him.

_Dear Mr. Black,_

_How are you doing, my dear boy? It doesn't seem as if any time has passed since you and your three friends were wandering the halls of this wonderful school. I must say that you boys have caused me to grow more gray hairs than any other student who has passed through._

_Speaking of which, how are Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans doing these days? I know that she must be expecting her child soon. I cannot wait to see what talent the child will show, coming from such talented parents. And Mr. Pettigrew? I'm hoping he is doing well, also._

_This brings me to the reason for this letter, Mr. Black. I have some grave concerns about you other friend, Mr. Lupin. I know his lycanthropy has always given him problems. You boys were the best thing that could have happened to Mr. Lupin during his schooling, accepting him for who he was and not what his lycanthropy made him. However, I'm afraid that he may be turning towards the dark even after all you have offered him._

_One of my contacts has relayed the information that Mr. Lupin has been seen in the presence of Fenrir Greyback. What was discussed, I do not know. However, it concerns me that Mr. Lupin was anywhere near that man at all. It cannot bode well for poor Mr. Lupin. I fear that he may be drawn to the power that Voldemort will offer the werewolves were they to join him. Please take this into consideration and be extra cautious around Mr. Lupin. I fear for the safety of all of you, most of all for the young Mr. Potter, should Mr. Lupin turn towards the dark._

_I also hope you can please pass a message onto Mr. Potter for me? Ask him to get in touch with as soon as possible. I have something of grave importance to tell him and his family, and I fear that my memory is going because I cannot recall where they live. Fawkes has been absent for a few days, so I have been unable to contact him with the regular school owls. _

_I hope this letter finds you in good health, Mr. Black. And please remember what I have told you. It would be for the best if you were to burn this letter after you read it. Please pass the message onto Mr. Potter as well. And tell Ms. Evans I wish her the best of luck in childbirth. I hear that it is one of the most magical experiences one can go through. I also hope she has the healthy child she dreams of. Boy or girl, I know she will be happy._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

Remus's hands shook. He could not believe this. How could Dumbledore do this to him? He would never be caught near that animal, Greyback. His eyes quickly found his two friends, who were looking at him with concern. Seeing their faces, Remus visibly relaxed. He saw no doubt or judgment in their eyes. Only worry for his reaction to this newest revelation.

Lily had since given up on trying to break the wall down with only a simple paperweight. She had slumped into the recliner, her head in her hands. It seems her wandless repairing and summoning of the paperweight had depleted most of her energy by that time.

Looking at her, Remus realized that sometime during the reading of the letter, James, Sirius, and him had moved from under the protection of the table to the couch. Seeing everyone looking at him, Remus decided to speak first.

"I know you all already know this, but I want to clarify. I have never, nor will I ever, been seen with the likes of Greyback."

"We know, Moony," James replied. "What we need to figure out is why Dumbledore would say something like this. Not to mention how he already knew about Harry. I caught that right away. He said Lily's child at first, then 'young Mr. Potter' later in the letter, and then finishing by saying that Lily would be happy with a boy or a girl. How does he already know about Harry? He must know that he was born already, if he knew it was a boy."

Lily could see the confliction on everyone's face. Their faith in the great man known as Albus Dumbledore was shattering before their eyes. They were still struggling to find an excuse for the man not telling them about the prophesy. Now this was thrust at them. He was damning one of their own and hiding more information from them. Thinking quickly, Lily made a plan.

"I think," She began, "a trip to see Severus is overdue and needed."

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><p>AN: What did you think? I'm trying to catch how Dumbledore would sound in a letter, but I'm rubbish. At least I feel that way. As always, please point out what I can improve on or what you like. I always love reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Here is the fifth chapter. I'm sorry about the sporadic update, but I promised from the beginning that this would only be a short one-shot. I know I said that each chapter would be able to stand on its own, and I'm trying my best. Enjoy!**_

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><p>Near the darkest corner of Spinner's End, four figures seemingly walked out of the shadows themselves, one carrying a strange bundle. Wearing black cloaks that covered every feature, one could not tell if the figures were male or female. That is, until one of them spoke.<p>

"Bloody hell! I had suspicions that Snivellus lived in a dark place, but I never thought that I would be correct! And living near muggles as well. Who would have thought one of Voldemort's lackeys would be willing to live in a place like this!" Sirius stage whispered to his cohorts.

"Can you be any louder, Black?" Lily hissed, turning her glaring eyes onto Sirius. He gulped when he saw the fire in them. "Don't forget, I grew up right down the lane. So you're not just insulting Severus. You are insulting me as well. Is that something that you really want to do right now?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Sirius just shook his head negatively.

"I thought not."

"She's bloody scary," Sirius muttered to Remus, when he thought he was safe. Remus just rolled his eyes. Sirius, it seemed, would never learn the powers of a female pissed off.

"Oh, and for the future, if you use that kind of language around my child again, Sirius, I will cut your tongue off and use it in my newest potion."

The guys stopped walking for a minute, looking at one another in horror.

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><p>"This is Severus's house, or this is where it should be in any case," Lily said as soon as the group reached what looked to be an empty lot. "He must have already gone into hiding. Fidelius charm, I suspect, since we cannot see the house. I'm guessing the use of repelling wards as well, but ones that focus on intent, rather than a signature of any sort. Since we obviously don't have any thoughts of harming him, we are able to stay this close. However, without being able to see into the house, I think this is the best we can do. I don't want to try to dismantle his wards or charms. For one, it would alert anyone who was monitoring for magical activity that we are here. For another, we have to remember that the muggle are not blind. They will wonder what's going on. So, any suggestions?"<p>

She turned back to face her group of boys. Remus and Sirius were still looking around with a small amount of wonder, while James was now holding Harry, who was fast asleep. Bringing him along on this little adventure was not for fun, but out of necessity. Lily needed to initiate the contact with Severus; it was known that if she was not with the group, Severus would ignore them, and not listen to a word anyone had to say. And none of guys wanted to have to stay with Harry, not knowing what was going on with the others and worrying. And Lily did not want to have to leave her child anywhere she was not.

A few months had passed, since Harry was born. It had taken that long to plan out what would happen. While no of the men wanted to make a trip to see Snape, Lily insisted that they needed to, and the boys had enough sense to know not to argue with her. And, they wanted to be sure that Harry would be up to the journey, having previously decided to bring him along.

Only a few weeks were left before Christmas, and a recent snowfall covered the world in a pure sheet of white. The waxing moon above was reflecting off the snow, casting an ethereal glow. While not as bright as a full moon, the waxing moon gave off enough light to see by without needing a want, especially with the snow to reflect off.

The baby was covered in a warming charm, making sure that he was kept at a comfortable temperature. Walking a few steps more onto the property, Lily waited for a response from the group.

As it stood, she didn't have to wait for any response. As if appearing out of thin air, a shadow appeared in the empty lot, pointing a wand at the group. Covered by an invisibility charm, a harsh voice rang out in the empty night.

"Show your wands, and pass them all to Lily, or I stun you and obliviate you where you stand."

Grumbling about it, Sirius looked ready to say something in retort, but a glare from Lily silenced him. Remus was the first one to reach for his wand. Making sure that he moved slowly, he raised his wand above his head, and passed it to Lily, who placed it into her front pocket.

James was next to give up his wand. Sirius took the longest, unsurprisingly, but eventually gave his wand to Lily as well.

Moving a couple steps closer, Snape was revealed in the moonlight. Talking only to Lily, he held something black in his hand.

"I want those _men_ to wear a blindfold. I will reveal where I live to you alone. You and I will guide them into the house, but I do not trust them with the secrecy of my house."

"And what's to stop you from cursing us with our sight gone, Sniv- _Snape_?" Sirius snarled quietly. Fortunately for him, he remembered Lily's promised punishment should that 'nickname' for Snape ever be uttered in her or his presence again.

"I swear on my magic that I will not cast any harmful magic at Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, or James Potter for the twenty-four hours while said persons are not able to fight back fairly. So mote it be."

A soft white glow lit up the area for a brief second before fading again. The group was silent, until Lily turned her head towards Sirius. "Satisfied now?"

Sirius just stepped forward. "Put the bloody blindfold on then."

Taking the blindfolds from Severus's hand, Lily put them on her boys one by one. Starting with Sirius, she put the blindfolds on and tied them in the back. Giving Sirius a kiss on the cheek –"thank you"-, she moved onto Remus, saving James for last.

"Hold Harry tightly. I will take him from you once I get the blindfold on you. That way, you can just hold onto Remus's robes, and he will hold onto Sirius's robes, who will hold onto my robes, while Severus leads me inside."

After taking her son from his father, she turned to Severus. "We are ready whenever you are, Sev."

Giving Lily a scrape of parchment, he waited for her to read it.

_Severus Snape lives at 77 Spinner's End._

She felt the knowledge seep into her mind, as the house physically appeared before her. Handing the parchment back to Severus, Lily watched as he burned it to ash, and then turned to head inside. Looking back, Lily made sure all the men were in line and holding onto the robes of the one in front. Putting Sirius's hand onto the back of her robes, she waited for him to grab hold before she slowly started walking forward.

Severus held the door open for Lily, but stepped away once she was through the doorway. Watching with a grim satisfaction as the door hit each man coming into his living room; Severus turned his head to face Lily, who was less than amused.

"Must you really, Severus? Can't we be adults here?"

Not having a response, Severus just barked that the men could remove their blindfolds before sitting in the only recliner in the rooms. Lily watched as the men removed their blindfolds and looked around the room apprehensively.

The room was furnished sparsely. The wall opposite the door was covered floor to ceiling with bookshelves. In the middle of the room there was one couch, one recliner which Severus occupied, and a small living room table. The right wall of the room led to the hallway. The left side led to the kitchen. No upstairs seemed to exist, but Lily did not doubt that there was a hidden doorway that led to a potions lab in a basement.

Not enough seats existed for all present to sit down. Lily sat on the couch across from Severus, and James sat next to her immediately. Remus took the last empty seat, while Sirius, with all his nervous energy, settled for pacing behind the couch.

"What brings you all here?" Severus asked immediately.

"As if you don't know, Snape," scoffed James. Lily gave him a warning glance, and shifted the sleeping bundle in her arms before she spoke.

"We are here to get more information, Severus. We recently have come across information that has led us to…question some of the actions the Headmaster has taken recently."

Snape grinned in an 'I told you so' manner, while Sirius growled from behind the couch.

"I'm trying to be nice here, _Snape_, but don't give me a reason to try something before this house evicts me. We are here only because Lily seems to have a reason to still trust you, even after what you did to her. If push came to shove, we would still trust the Headmaster's word over your own!"

"Then you would trust the person who would willingly sacrifice every life in this room, other than that of the sleeping child. His life would come at the expense of the "Greater Good" later. Either way, all the lives in this room would be forfeit if Dumbledore thought it would rid the world of the Dark Lord." Snape hissed back. He sat back in his recliner, watching the reaction his words had.

Sirius, Remus, and James stiffened at the accusation, while Lily just held Harry tighter, looking as if her worst fears were confirmed.

"How dare you say that?" James's voice cut through the room like a knife. "Why would you say something like that about the one man who has tried to help you turn from your ways?"

"Because that same man asked me to risk my life by going back to the Dark Lord and spy for him!" Snape exploded. "The Dark Lord would have been able to read the truth in my eyes within seconds. I went to Dumbledore to protect you, and try to protect myself. What did he do? Threw me back at the wolves! Told me that the only way to repent was to go back there! Do any of you dunderheads realize what Death Eaters have to do monthly? Do you?"

Not pausing for an answer, Snape continued his rant.

"Each and every month, every Death Eater has to go out and 'prove' his willingness to do the Dark Lords bidding. We have to go out, in small groups, take muggles from their houses, young females are the best pick. Then we are tasked with bringing them back, raping them, and torturing them in a way that would amuse the Dark Lord. Mind you, we can never repeat the same way we torture the victim. After we finish torturing, we decide the way their life should end. A simple Avada? No that's not original. That won't earn you any points. Use the Imperius and have them kill themselves? A bit more creative. Or just let the torturing continue until they die of pain or blood loss. If the Dark Lord is satisfied, you are allowed to live for another month. If he thinks that you have gone soft, you are cast to your so called 'brothers' for their entertainment and to hone their own style of torturing. If you are lucky enough to survive that, you can have another chance next month. If not, you are easily replaced."

"I managed to avoid every monthly raid, except for my first one. How, you may ask? By _lying_ to the Dark Lord and telling him that thinking of ways to torture would distract me from thinking of ways to create a potion that would work to make him immortal."

"So don't you _dare_ sit down in my house and have the balls to ask me how I dare accuse your _wonderful_ Headmaster of willingly sacrificing you. Because he was willing to sacrifice all those innocent people to gain another spy in the Dark Lords ranks."

Severus finished his rant, breathing hard. His eyes were wild, moving back and forth. The group just stared at Severus in various states of shock. Lily was as green as the panels that were lining the windows. James and Sirius had conjured a bucket to puke into, before vanishing the mess, just to puke again when they thought of what was said. Remus was as pale as the full moon that just passed.

"Severus," Lily began softly. "We came here-I came here- to ask for your help in protecting ourselves. Nothing is more important in my life than the child I hold in my arms. I need to protect him from anything and anyone at all costs. I know that this is a recipe for disaster, having all the guys here with me, but it's important for all of us to be able to hear what you have to say. We are all going to be affected by this. We all need to prepare, and you are the only one who can help us. You are the only one that has the missing pieces that are needed to build a plan. Can you please explain to use what happened? What did Dumbledore say to you? Can you help us? Would you help _me_?"

Sighing, Severus began his tale.

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><p><em><strong>AN: They are there talking to Snape! Finally! I wonder what he will say to them. Will the boys come to trust him? Will Severus come to trust the boys? What is Dumbledore's plan? Stay tuned to find out. Drop a review if you have any suggestions on what I can do better! Thanks!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but I warned that I would not update regularly. I'm doing my best to, though. I hope you enjoy. Leave any feedback you want. Tell me what I can do to improve.**

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><p>It started after that incident in fifth year. I can never say how sorry I am for using that horrible word, Lily. It was after the O.W.L's were over. I was approached by Lucius Malfoy to join his 'club'. I wasn't given a choice in the matter. It was join or die. And so I did as they said. I hated every second of it. But we were not marked yet. The Dark Lord was still being careful at that point. He only had one or two marked students that were working inside the walls of the school. And those students were the ones that we got our orders from.<p>

I had nowhere to turn. I wanted help to get out of what I was getting into. But there was no one I could trust. McGonagall was not there for the Slytherins, no matter what she said. And she followed that old fool blindly.

So I kept my head down, and followed the crowd, all along gathering knowledge. Nothing major happened until after I graduated. Lucius had others relay the message to the Dark Lord of my talents in potions. I was the only new recruit he ever asked to talk to. He looked at me for a long moment, before shooting questions at me. They all involved potions and each one was more difficult than the last. After two hours of interrogation he asked me what would happen if I mixed a dragon scale with diced flobberworm eggs over a simmering cauldron.

I told him that it would explode, obviously. The two substances were not compatible. The complex nature of a dragon scale would overwhelm the simplicity of the flobberworm eggs and would cause it to explode. I saw the Dark Lord reaching discreetly toward his wand, before I continued my answer. I let him know that it would explode under any normal circumstance, unless you added two claws from a fire crab while turning counter clockwise until they were dissolved into the mixture.

His hand halted its discreet path for his wand. I saw the gleam in his eyes. For whatever it is worth, the Dark Lord is not _stupid_. He was at the top of his classes while in school, and knows a fair bit about potions as well. And by proving that I knew at least as much about potions as he did, if not more, then I saved my life. I secured my position in his ranks, and therefore, I secured my life, for the most part.

I told you about what Death Eaters have to do every month to prove their worth? Well, that moment, I asked the Dark Lord about not going on the raids. He wanted to know why, narrowing his eyes at me.

"My Lord," I said, my head bowed almost to the floor. "You wish of me to make you your potions. However, forgive me for saying, if I have to worry about participating in the raids, no matter how much I would like too, I would not be able to make the more important potions, as they require constant supervision and addition of ingredients. No matter how much I would love to put the mudblood trash in their places, I cannot do both for you."

The Dark Lord was silent for a long while. I stayed bent over in a bow, waiting for the worst to come at me. I didn't even dare to breathe. After a tortuous five minutes, he finally spoke again.

"You may have an idea, Severus. I do need your skills in potion making, far more than I need to see your _entertainment_. And you can also start on your quest in finding me a potion that will make me immortal, such as the Elixir of Life. I know that fool Flamel has a Stone hidden inside his home. But you, Severus, will be in charge of finding ways to make me one, or make me immortal, or even both, if you feel you can." Voldemort gave a thin-lipped smile. Before anyone could even blink, he had his wand out. "_Crucio_."

I gasped as the pain of a thousand hot knives ripped through my body. I didn't scream, not at first. But he continued the curse until I was yelling myself hoarse.

"Do not presume to tell me what you can and cannot do for me. If I asked you to make me immortal _and_ provide me with entertainment, I expect you to be able to do both to my expectations. But, I am a lenient Lord, and I will allow you to focus on just creating my potions for me. I know your brain cannot handle figuring out on how to do both of these things for me. You are dismissed from having to entertain me. But do not be fooled. I am now expecting more than perfection from you and your potions. Do you understand?"

The Dark Lord then released me from the curse. I gasped out my answer, bowing down on my knees, trying my best not to pant from the pain. He finally dismissed us, and I went home to collapse on my bed, not to wake up for the next two days.

* * *

><p>And so it continued for the next few months, this monotonous routine of just existing and not being able to live. Then came that fateful night, the one where I heard that fake talking to Dumbledore. It matters not why I was there, but I will tell you. I was waiting for two of the Dark Lord's marked followers. It was my job to deliver their needed cache of potions for their mission. But I saw Dumbledore walk in that door. I felt a compulsion to follow him. I tried to resist it, but I could not. I followed him towards the private rooms in the back. It was not until the first line of the prophesy that Rosmerta caught me and threw me out of the pub.<p>

I ran to the Dark Lord, feeling that this could not wait. He was furious with me, for not staying to ensure that the potions were delivered. And because they were time sensitive potions, the mission would have to be put off for another month, until they could be made again. He had me on the floor, screaming from the pain he was inflicting upon me. He was ready to kill me. I could tell from the way that he wasn't letting up on the curse. It wasn't until I could utter Dumbledore's name that he stopped.

"What about Dumbledore, you worthless piece of flesh? _Speak_!"

"I-I-I heard-a prophecy-my Lord," was all I was able to gasp out.

"Well, what was it about, you fool?"

And so I told him. I told him to save my life for failing to deliver the potions. I did not stop to think of you. We had not spoken since fifth year, and I did not know about your pregnancy. After all, there are many people who have defied the Dark Lord. The wording of the prophesy, any prophecy really, is so vague that it could mean almost anything. It depends on how you interpret the meaning. And the Dark Lord thought that it meant you or the Longbottoms.

It wasn't until I saw that-that _rat_- at one meeting that I even thought of the prophecy pointing towards you and your family. I heard whispers of a secret man the Dark Lord had waiting, who would help bring the prophecy about. It was then that I thought of you, and what danger you and your family would be in.

I couldn't think of anything other than your safety, and what his willing- for he was definitely not being _forced_ to say anything – presence would mean. Though I longed to wrap my hands around his throat, I could not approach the rat, for fear of exposing my true feelings. So I did the next best thing I could think of. I turned to the only other person I thought would be able to fight the Dark Lord's power. I ran to Dumbledore for help.

* * *

><p>"Severus, my boy, to what do I owe this surprise?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in the light of the candles burning on his desk. Luck had found that Dumbledore was in his office, even if none of the teachers wanted me in the castle. I was just glad that I had avoided all of them, or I never would have had a chance to talk to Dumbledore.<p>

"I have need of your assistance, Headmaster," I replied coolly, after refusing the offer of a lemon drop.

"What can I do for you?"

"I…I have some information that I may believe will help. Help you, I mean."

Turning serious, Dumbledore eyed me. "Why should I trust anything that you say, boy?" His voice was cold, hard as stone.

"Because Lily and her family are in grave danger."

"That is no secret, Severus. All of us that are opposed to Voldemort's oppression and point of views are in danger. Some more than the Potters."

"Lily is in danger, you old fool! And you very well know it! I followed you that night at the pub. I saw you with that Seer. I heard the prophecy, and I reported it back to the Dark Lord. He is planning his attack as we speak, and he has one of Potter's lackeys in his back pocket." I spit out. I knew of Pettigrew's animagus form through other Death Eaters, who have seen him change. I assumed Dumbledore knew of it as well, because the old goat knows everything else, or so he likes to believe.

But he showed surprise at that statement. "Who may that be?"

"Pettigrew." I explained what I had overheard being whispered about a secret weapon to bring about the prophecy.

"Ah, so then they did take my advice about possibly making him their Secret Keeper," Dumbledore muttered to himself, thinking I could not hear him. I glowered at him, almost asking him what he meant by it, but holding my tongue at the last second. I wasn't getting a good feeling about this meeting at all.

Watching Dumbledore pacing around his office, I could not help but slightly regret telling Dumbledore first. I was thinking that I should have come straight to you, Lily, consequences be damned, when he finally spoke again.

"Am I correct in assuming that you want to save Lily Evans from Voldemort?" He shot at me.

"More than anything. I love her and I want her to be safe. If that means having to defy the Dark Lord, then so be it."

"Are you willing to do _anything_?" The way he stressed the last word sent invisible shivers down my spine, but I shook my head in the affirmative.

"Does this mean you want to atone for your sins? Do you want to give up being a Death Eater and help the downfall of the beast known as Voldemort?"

"If it is the only way to save Lily and have her safe and happy, then I am willing to do anything you need me too. I no longer wish to serve the Dark Lord. His tastes and mine are not compatible." I then told him the despicable things the Dark Lord asks of his followers. I confided in him that I could not do this for much longer. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would lose my life. I wanted a chance to redeem myself and to help bring the downfall of the Dark Lord.

"Then, my boy, the only option is for you to return."

I stood there, not daring to believe my ears. "What?" I hissed. "How do you suppose that to be true after everything I just told you? I will die if I have to continue to be a Death Eater. They will find me out sooner or later, and my life will be the price to pay."

"Severus, returning is the only way to atone for your sins. There is no other way that you can redeem yourself than by turning spy for the side of the light. We have a desperate need to know Voldemort's plans, so that we may thwart them. The only way that will happen is if you return to the Dark Lords side, and play spy for us." Dumbledore replied in an irritatingly calm voice, looking at me as if I was a stupid first year again, and he was explaining on how to turn a matchstick into a needle.

"What of my life? What will happen to me if they were to ever find out about this? What are you going to do about Lily? Her life is in danger! I came to you looking for help, and you're turning your back on me. You don't care if I live or die, do you?" I yelled back at him, not being able to control myself any longer.

"Severus, what is one life in the grand scheme of things? One life is not comparable to that of a million others. Would you not willing give your life to save Lily's? Of course you would. And so Lily would give her life to save the rest of the world."

"You are wrong, old man. Lily would want to live. She enjoys her life, even if it is not with me, and I want nothing more than for her to be happy. I need your help to make that happen, not your help to make her a sacrificial lamb. I should have never come here. I'm just going to go to her directly and tell her about all this. She needs to be warned of the rat's betrayal so she can go into hiding. Good day, Headmaster," I hissed, turning to leave. But the sound of Dumbledore's voice made me halt. Never had I heard him speak so coldly and so determined.

"Be warned, Severus Snape. No one person's life is worth the downfall of millions of others. If Lily Evans Potter must be sacrificed for the world to be safe, then so be it. You do not know the rest of the prophecy. You know but half of it. The prophecy must play out for peace to come back to our world. And make no mistake. If you try to warn any of the Potters, I will have you thrown in Azkaban, and you will never come back out. This is all for the Greater Good. Some will -must-die for the rest of us to be safe. Do you understand me?" He was standing up, his eyes blazing fire. Not looking at him, I shook my head.

"Yes, Headmaster. I understand. Good-bye."

I walked out of his office, and the next day I sent my letter to you and went into hiding.

* * *

><p>And that is the truth of your oh-so-great headmaster. I'm sorry you must find out like this, but better than you ending up dead. I swear on my life and magic that what you have just heard is the truth as I know it to be. I'm so sorry, Lily. All I ever wanted was to protect you and to make you happy however I could. But because of me, you are in more danger now than you were before. Please, go into hiding and keep yourself safe. That little boy you have needs you more than any other person here. Don't take away his mother. Don't take away my only friend.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: What did you think? This was in Snape's POV, as if he was speaking to Lily alone, if you couldn't tell. I thought it would be more somber if I told it this way, rather than anyone breaking in to speak, so you could get the full grasp of the situation. I know that my writing is choppy in some areas and I'm doing my best to fix that. I'm trying to paint a picture with my words, but I'm not a very good artist. Tell me how I did, if it tickles your fancy.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait for a new chapter. I'm trying to keep up with this, but life gets in the way. I'm thinking in the next few chapters I'm going to wrap up the story. But nothing is certain yet. I hope you enjoy the next chapter of _Severus's Letter_!**

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><p>Silence reigned in the Snape household for a pregnant while. Severus was staring at the fire, Sirius and Remus were staring at each other with their eyes wide open, James was alternating looking at Lily and Harry, while Lily was just staring into space open-mouthed, tears streaming down her face.<p>

In the end, it was Severus who broke the silence.

"Now you know… I could not serve a man like that. I'm working towards ridding our world of evil, not helping to defeat one Dark Lord, just so another can rise up, a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"Oh, Severus," Lily sobbed, before rushing to embrace said man. Seeing Lily hug a very stiff Snape, and then seeing said Snape thaw out and return the hug, was enough to break Sirius out of his shock.

"Lily! What are you doing?" Sirius exclaimed, then looking at James, as if waiting for him to protest the close contact between Snape and Lily as well. But Sirius was sadly mistaken.

"Oh come off it, Padfoot!" James yelled, rounding on his best friend. "Did you not just listen to a word that Snape said? He just saved all of our arses, and you bloody well know it! What do you think would have become of you, if the rat did turn on us. You would have hunted him down, consequences be damned. And who, besides the people in this room, and Dumbledore know that we were going to switch our Secret Keepers? No one! You would have been chucked into Azkaban faster than you could say 'Not Guitly'!

"And don't forget about Moony! Who would ever hire him, with his furry little problem? He would have been forced to find work in the muggle world. Me and Lily would be dead, and poor Harry would probably have grown up with Dumbledore ruling his life! So don't stand there and tell me that you still cannot take the sight of Lily hugging the man who just saved our lives!"

James was now standing, breathing hard after that. Sirius was staring at James, like he grew a second head. Remus had turned a pale shade of green, and Severus was staring at James.

"For what it's worth, Potter, I appreciate that."

"Yeah, well, it's true. Just don't expect me to make a habit of it."

Lily beamed at this interaction, while Sirius looked betrayed. James sighed, and turned back to his best mate.

"I'm sorry, Pad. I didn't mean to yell, but I didn't know how else to catch your attention. I just want you to think. Obviously, not everything is what we think it is. Lily has been telling me for months to think twice about trusting Dumbledore. I just haven't wanted to hear what she was saying. I didn't want to think it was the truth. But, look at Snape. He obviously wasn't lying about any of it. He can still perform magic, and he's not laying dead on the floor."

Without a word, Snape conjured a glass of water, hovering it to Remus, who was still looking a bit pale. The werewolf nodded gratefully.

"We just have to face it. We're in a war, and now I don't know who to trust. What if we're fighting for the side that wants us dead more than the other? We need to grow up, Sirius. We aren't kids anymore, and we cannot hold onto childish grudges. This goes way past any house rivalries. We aren't getting pranked, we are being hunted. Wounded pride isn't worth your life."

Sirius, just sat down, and shut his mouth, sufficiently cowed for the moment. But he was determined to think of another reason not to trust the git in front of him.

"Severus," Lily started, "what should we do from here, do you think? Dumbledore still has so much power. I don't want to cross him, but I'm not giving him control of my child. I have no intentions of dying. I don't want to keep running either, but I will if it means keeping my child safe."

"Does Dumbledore know where you are?"

"No. The only people who have our new address are in this room. The healer had a portkey, but we made it and dismantled it every time she came and left. But before we leave today, I want Sirius to tell you the address of our house, so that you may have another safe shelter if you have need of it."

"Do not worry for me. You need to take care of your family. But I do have an idea of what might happen next. The Dark Lord is very angry with me. I bear the proof of his anger. My mark has not stopped burning since the day I went into hiding. But I do know this. He will not attack without being fully prepared," Severus looked at Lily and James seriously. "The Dark Lord is going to want to make an example of you, so he will wait for the most opportune moment to attack you; wait until he is the most powerful. I'm guessing he would think only a handful of days out of the year are worth waiting for, one being All Hollow's Eve. Since it is already November, I will rule that out, but would not put it past the Dark Lord to wait until next year to do it. Pettigrew was living it up, telling the Dark Lord you were going to switch as soon as Dumbledore told you too."

"Do you think that Voldemort would really hold his forces back for that long? I mean, it doesn't seem as if Voldemort has that much _patience_," James asked, actually having a bit of grudging respect for the fact that Snape did not react to the name of Voldemort at all. Not even the most devilish of the Death Eaters he and Sirius had apprehended could boast the same.

"The Dark Lord will do whatever he deems necessary to make sure that his followers and everyone else know that he is to be feared and respected."

At that time, Harry started to fuss. Lily started to rock him, but he wasn't stopping. She looked around for a clock, and found one on the wall opposite her. She did a double take.

"It's almost 7 in the morning!" Lily yelped. "We've been here for almost 8 hours! Poor Harry must be starving. He didn't wake up all night!" She immediately cast a Blurring charm, and went around to feeding Harry. Snape, turning pink, had the grace to turn around. Remus went into the kitchen to prepare tea for all present, and Sirius was still pacing, sending nasty glances to Severus, who was still a slight shade of pink.

"Oh come off it Severus," Lily drawled. "It's perfectly natural to be breast feeding my child. It's what's most healthy for him."

"I know that Lily," Severus responded, with his back still turned. "However, I am not accustomed to women breast feeding their children right in front of me, while sitting on my couch."

Lily just giggled while James slowly smirked.

"Poor Snapey has probably never seen a breast," Sirius sniggered.

"I've seen more than you have, Black," Severus replied hotly. James sent Sirius a warning glare, while Remus chose that moment to walk back in with the tea floating behind him.

"I think," Remus stated slowly, passing cups of steaming tea around, "that we need to lay down a couple ground rules. We need to figure out where we are going to go from here. We need to decide what to do with this information."

"What you need to do, you mean," Severus clarified. "I am not doing anything. I am staying here in my house as long as I can, and if I need to, I will leave the country. There is nothing left here for me any longer. I am going to be working on my Potions Mastery by mail, and once I have it, I will be leaving."

"Severus, you can't!" Lily cried. "Where are you going to go? What will you do?"

"That will not have to be any of your concern, Lily. I will find myself a job and make an honest living, hoping one day that this whole problem will be resolved and you are safe."

"Oh that's typical Slytherin," Sirius said scathingly. "Just run and hide and let everyone else risk their necks to make this world better! Go on, Snake! Tuck your tail between your legs and run away!"

"Why should I risk my neck for this place, Black? Give me one good reason to try and help anyone in this miserable place. What has anyone done for me? I have tried to make amends and have been shunned for past mistakes. No one will ever forget what I had to do to save my own life! So why risk my life any longer for a world that will never accept me?" Severus yelled back to Sirius.

"Because it's the right thing to do! YOU are the one who chose the path, and now you have to live with your choices! That is no reason to turn your back on your own country!" Sirius retorted.

"ENOUGH!" James's voice carried over both of them. "What are you two trying to do? Sirius, if he wants to leave, it's his choice! He is right when he says he has no obligation to stay. He HAS already helped us, or have you forgotten about the rat! We wouldn't even be here right now, if it wasn't for Snape!"

"What ever did happen to the traitor?" Lily asked, while rocking a sleepy Harry, who was impervious to the loud noises now that his stomach was full.

James just grinned evilly, while Sirius and Remus locked gazes and tried not to break out laughing.

* * *

><p>In one small room of the finished basement of the Potter's house, was a curious scene to anyone who might happen upon it.<p>

There was a cat, which was walking around the perimeter of the room, sniffing at every corner. Every time he stopped, he would look up and start yowling, then resume his walking. The floor had been clear of all debris except for a cat litter box and a bowl of water. There was only one table, sitting in the middle of the room.

Any holes or cracks that might have been home to any curious creature had been spelled close. There was absolutely no escape for any creature, except the cat. The cat knew that the trick out of the room lay above his head on the table. For sitting on the table was a cage that was Unbreakable and locked tight. The only way the cage would open is for the cat to place his paw on the padlock.

The cat, which was actually a half-kneazle, was intelligent enough to know this. However, the wizards who placed him in this room made his task even greater by increasing the height of the table. The table was over six feet in height , which would normally not be a problem for a cat to jump. However, the room had been spelled to become smaller and tighter, basically big enough to fit a small, albeit tall, side table. The cat had no room to make a running jump to the table. And, being an older cat, he could just not make a jump that high without running first.

An anxious squeaking was coming out of the cage. The cat knew what his reward was to be if he could just solve this puzzle. A fat rat was sitting up there, ripe for eating, if he could but just figure out how to reach it.

Finally, the cat was able to think of something. He may not be able to make a running jump onto the table, but he _could_ make a running jump to the opposite wall. If he could… yes!

Meowing with pleasure the cat started running towards the opposite wall, reaching it within two or three strides. Pushing off his back feet, the cat jumped as high as he could, landing against the wall. Then, in a move only a cat can pull off, pushed off the wall with his paws and twisted in midair, landing on the tall table with the grace of a flying swan.

Yowling his victory, the cat quickly pressed his paw against the padlock on the cage, and wiggled his body halfway in. Using his superior vision, the cat could see the rat cowering at the very end of the cage, squeaking up a storm. With a growl and a quick paw swipe, the rat was flung against the cat, which quickly bit into the neck of the rat. He picked the rat up and shook until he could hear feel the body go limp. The cat quickly bit into the rat, taking a huge chuck with him. Chewing the meat, the cat shot a look of disgust at the rat, and quickly backed out of the cage, the door and padlock automatically locking again. Hissing his displeasure at the nasty taste of the rat, the cat jumped back to the floor, and walked through the door that magically opened the second the cat bit the rat. He better be getting a nice bird or vole for his trouble!

Once the cat had walked out, the door shut by itself, locking the room again. Everything reset. The litter box cleaned itself, the water refilled itself, any trace of the last cat was gone. As if out of thin air, a new cat appeared. Sniffing the air, he could smell food somewhere.

The rat, which was spelled to feel the pain of every cat bite, but not actually be harmed, awoke as if from a deep sleep. Smelling a new cat, the rat let out an involuntary squeak. Upon hearing that, the cat let out a growl and started finding a way to get to the rat.

The rat, who was actually a wizard named Peter Pettigrew, shuddered. He's seen over 50 cats since he was put here. And his captors promised that he would live through this for the rest of his life. He only wished for a quick death, which wasn't going to come.

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><p><strong>AN: How was it? Did you like the punishment for Pettigrew? Let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Sorry about the huge delay. Life gets in the way and I try my best. My laptop was also broken and I didn't have another one to work on. I hope you enjoy this!**_

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><p>After everything was cleaned up and Severus's residence was returned to its normal state, everyone was walking towards the door. Sirius was first, the most anxious to get out of his rival's house, followed by Remus and James, with Lily, carrying Harry, and Severus bringing up the rear.<p>

"Are you sure you want to leave, Severus? I do not want you to leave, if you don't have to."

"But I must, Lily. There is nothing here for me. I have no desire to stay in a place where I am despised for what they believe I was. I stayed long enough to warn you of danger. Now that I am satisfied that you are safe and I have fulfilled my debt towards your _husband_, I have no reason to stay. You may still keep in touch with my by Owl, if you wish."

"Of course," Lily replied, trying to keep the hitch out of her voice. Even though she was mad at Severus for all these years, she didn't like knowing that Severus wouldn't be around. Especially now that he had shown that he never stopped caring for her, she couldn't bear to lose him again. He was still her best friend, her first friend to accept her as she was to show her magic and introduce her to the world of wizards and witches.

She also felt guilty. She had refused his apology after that incident in fifth year, fuming that he would dare ever think that word, never mind utter it. But she was unfair. She let the whisperings that Severus was turning dark get to her, and she didn't want anything to do with him or the Dark Arts. So she had turned her back on him. Yet he continued to help her. He risked his life trying to figure out if she was in danger, and then sent her a warning, knowing that she might not believe him.

"I'm so sorry, Severus," she whispered hoarsely, tears pooling in her eyes. Turning towards him, she threw her free arm around him, and pressed herself against his side, silent tears of guilt and sorrow trailing down her face.

"What for, Lily?" Severus asked, alarmed. He was not used to women crying on him, never mind his best friend, who he seen shed tears on only a handful of occasions. He stood rock still, allowing Lily to lean on him and sob out all the reasons that she was sorry. He put an arm around her shoulder, rubbing her back and assuring her that it was not her fault.

The guys were waiting at the door, giving the two the time they needed to say good bye. James's eyes narrowed, not liking the fact that his wife was seeking comfort from someone other than himself. But he also knew that Lily carried guilt around for the way that she had ended her friendship with Severus. James knew that she had to expel that guilt, or it would consume her. And the only person that could help her with that was the one she was now seeking comfort from.

"Thank you, Severus," Lily said shyly a short while later. "Please keep in touch and take care of yourself. Make sure you eat and sleep. You do not need to work yourself so hard to get that Mastery. You're the best potion maker I know."

"I promise to keep in touch. Please just keep yourself and your family safe. The Dark Lord is not to be trifled with. Discretion is the better part of valor. Hide until you're ready to face him. You cannot face him while your child is still so weak. Do not put off training the young Potter. I do not hold stock in prophecies, but the Dark Lord does, and he would not hesitate slaying all of you if he thought that you were a threat. Give that boy the skills he needs to survive. You can never start too early. Also remember the Dark Arts are not to be completely feared. You cannot defend against what you do not know."

"Thank you, Snape," James sincerely replied. "I owe you for the safety of my family."

"You owe me nothing," Severus said shortly. "Just tell me that my debt is repaid."

"Many times over"

"Thank you."

By now, the group was almost off the property. Severus paused at the fence, opening it for everyone. Sirius passed through as fast as he could, shooting Severus a glare. Remus passed through next, nodding as Severus and whispering a thank you. James was next, and paused in front of Severus.

"If you ever need food and drink, you can always dine with the House of Potter. If you ever need an ally at your back, you just need to call upon the House of Potter. If you ever need shelter, you may always sleep inside the homes of the House of Potter. If you ever need protection, you may always seek refuge at the House of Potter. So says I, James Charlus Potter, the Head of House of Potter."

A silverfish glow flew from James's hands and wrapped itself slowly around Severus, like a snake slowly winding itself up his body.

Severus, stunned, did not know what to say. James, smiling slightly, walked pass the fence to where Sirius and Remus were waiting.

Lily, not knowing what just happened, decided to ask James when they got home. She said bye to a still stunned Severus, and apparated away with her family.

"Spill it James," she said almost as soon as they were in the house. "What did you do to make Severus so speechless?"

"I…well I…. How do I put this? I made him a…ally for lack of a better word. He is now under the protection of our House. And he can call upon us to help him for any reason. Any attack on him will be seen as an attack on us, as if someone attacked you or Harry. It's an old pureblood custom. It shows that the person who receive this protection is valued beyond normal friends would be. It was normally done when a House wanted to show gratitude to a person for doing the House a great service."

"So now everyone will know that Severus helped us?" Lily asked.

"And that to harm him will be seen as an attack on the House of Potter and will have to be prepared to face us and all of our allies," James replied. "I'm sorry for what happened with Snape, Lily. I know that I was a right git in school, and I had a hand in almost killing him. I will regret that 'til my dying day. Dumbledore didn't help things. He let us get away with murder. Having Snape save our arses from the rat helped to hammer that point home. I will never be able to repay almost costing the man his life, but I can try. I cannot say all of this to him, though. I cannot say how sorry I am, because to him it will be meaningless. What meaning does sorry have when it doesn't erase what I did. He knows that, which is why apologizing will mean nothing. However, Snape knows the meaning of me taking him under my House's protection. It means, as the Head of the House, I will knowingly and willingly lay my life down for his whether he wants me to or not. I cannot pretend to understand what he thinks, but this is as close as I can come to making up for what I almost did, though nothing will ever truly make up for it.

"Thank you," Lily whispered, burying her face in her husband's chest. Holding each other closely, the two went up to bed.

* * *

><p>"So what are we going to do about Dumbledore?" Sirius asked the next afternoon. They were all gathered in the Potter's family room, watching little Harry looking at his fist with wonder and trying to stick his entire foot in his mouth.<p>

"Oh, Harry," Lily sighed, looking at her son and shaking her head. "Remove your foot from your mouth. It's going to be there plenty when you're older, if you're anything like your father."

"We need to make a plan," James replied, shooting a glare at his wife, who just smiled innocently.

"I think the easiest thing would be to just confront him," Remus added. "No matter what, he is Dumbledore, and we have no hope of trying to take him on politically or publicly. However, if we try to deal with him privately, we stand a chance. We just need to bring a witness, and have the confrontation in an open space."

"That's true," Lily conceded. "He is a master. If we were in a confined space, he could wipe all of our memories out with a wave of his wand. But in the open we are safer. Not even he has the energy to try to harm us in the open in one go. But where should it be?"

"Maybe next to the Great Lake?" James mused. "We could say that we just don't want to be cooped up inside and the lake is harmless. He won't think anything of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"I still don't like this," Sirius grumbled. "Doing all of this over what that Snake said. Dumbledore is going to think we are the biggest fools. He will have an explanation for everything. "

"Were you not listening to a thing Severus said, Black?" Lily demanded. James and Remus slowly back against the wall, Harry in James's arms. They knew that this was coming. Sirius had an unhealthy hatred for Severus Snape, and there was no reason for it. Lily would defend her friend until the end, especially since she had the proof shown to her that Severus did make a mistake and paid for it every day. It was only a matter of time before the two clashed over it. They just needed to figure this out on their own.

"I'm not in the habit of trusting greasy-haired gits who run around with Death Eaters!"

"Black, I am sick of this. I'm going to hex some brains into your head! Why do you hate Severus? He has been paying for his sins every day! You heard him, it was join or die! He did what he had to do to save his own life! YOU would have done the same, Black, to save your miserable hide. At least Severus does it honorably."

"I WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE ANYTHING LIKE SNAPE DID! MY OWN BROTHER WAS A DEATH EATER. I WAS RAISED BY DEATH EATERS. I WAS DISOWNED FOR NOT BECOMING WHAT MY FAMILY WANTED ME TO BE!" Sirius shouted back at Lily. "I defied my family and gave everything up because I didn't believe in what they were doing! And that greasy coward joined to save himself? He should have _died_ for what he believed in, not join the enemy. Once a coward, always a coward, I say. Don't you dare compare me with Snape! I will never be like him. I will never be anything like him or my family. I would rather die than be like them! I had to watch while those little sons of bitches had a wonderful life, parents who were proud of them following in the footsteps of their ancestors! I WAS BEATEN AND ABUSED AND ABANDONDED FOR NOT KILLING AND TORTURING THOSE THAT I CONSIDERED FRIENDS! WHILE THOSE DEATH EATER CHILDREN WERE SHOWERED WITH LOVE AND AFFECTION JUST FOR DOING WHAT THEIR DADS TOLD THEM TOO! I felt like an unwanted House Elf, rather than a child of my family. And I survived. I didn't give in to the pressure. I have not, nor will I _ever_ be like a Death Eater!"

Lily just stared at Sirius with tears in her eyes, while James and Remus looked at their friend in a whole new light. Harry, In James's arms, was staring at his father with wide, tear-filled eyes. It seemed as if Harry didn't know if he should start screaming or stay quiet. James started rocking Harry back and forth, trying to stem off the explosion he knew would come if he didn't keep Harry calm.

While Remus and James knew that Sirius's life was bad, they didn't realize that it was _that_ bad. Looking bad, it did give a reason for all of Sirius's cruel pranks, even if it wasn't quite an excuse.

"Sirius," Lily sighed softly. Moving forward, she tried to put her arms around Sirius, but he moved away from her, and stalked out of the room.

"Maybe you should go talk to him," Remus told James, who sighed and nodded. But he stopped when Lily said that it was her that would follow him.

"I started this. I caused this old wound to open, so I should be the one to help it heal."

* * *

><p>"Sirius?" Lily called softly into the dark room. Sirius had taken refuge in Harry's room. While James was amusing Harry downstairs, Sirius had come up here, just staring at the empty crib. Lily came behind him slowly.<p>

"I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, Lils," Sirius said softly.

"I'm sorry for bringing up those memories, Sirius. I didn't know how bad it was for you. I never stopped to think about the fact that you didn't have a family that accepted you as mine did. I never thought that it would have been so hard for you seeing those other kids."

"It wasn't at first. I felt sorry for those kids, knowing what their parents would have them do sooner or later. I liked being friends with who I wanted to be friends with, and having friends that made my mum and dad mad, well that was just a bonus wasn't it? It wasn't until I saw how they treated my brother compared to how they treated me. He was the one my mum and dad doted on, gave everything to. I was just shoved out of the way and hit if I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't choke down the things they wanted me to do. What they wanted me to say and be. How could I hate someone just because they didn't have inbred imbeciles for parents? Just because they couldn't trace their ancestry back to the time of Merlin? I couldn't do it, and for that I was hated and disowned."

"Because you're parents were rotten and should never have been allowed to raise any child," Lily snarled, not understanding how parents could treat their own child like Sirius was treated. "I know now that your life sucked, Sirius. But that doesn't mean that you had to take it out on the other children. They were just as innocent as you in all of this. And _nothing_ excuses you from almost killing Severus."

"Oh he was fine. It's not like I would have let Remus get near him," Sirius scoffed, brushing it off.

"No he wouldn't have!" Lily exclaimed. "James told me all about it. If he hadn't gotten to Severus when he did, Remus would have bitten him or mauled him! The chains holding Remus to the wall were splintering the wood!"

"Yeah, well, one less greasy git of a Death Eater to walk in the world, isn't it?"

Lily eyed him coldly. Clearly, she wasn't going to be able to get through to him. He needed a life lesson to teach him once and for all. But she wouldn't be able to help him with that. He needed to grow up and let go of his rage against his parents and against Severus.

"Sirius Black, you are a great big child. You're life sucked, yes. No one will deny that, but get over it! Grow up and move on! If you don't want to, that's on you. You almost took another person's life, and you don't even care. You say he 'deserved' it, but he didn't. No one did. And what's worse, you would have killed Remus at the same time! He would have been found out and expelled from school, if not hunted and killed! You say you are nothing like your parents or the Death Eaters, but you are. You are worse if you can treat another human being so callously."

Taking a breath, she quickly continued. " You are the only one who can change yourself. And if you don't want to change, I won't say anything against it. However, I will not be around to watch you poison yourself. I just won't talk to you, is all. And being around someone who harbors such animosity towards their parents and a person who has done their best to atone for their sins isn't good for my son, either. I don't want my son around the son of a Death Eater family, which is the road you're leading if you believe that what you did to Severus and Remus wasn't anything. Until you chose to change, you will not have any access to my son, your godson. Just think on that," Lily said sternly, turning on her heel and strolling out of the door, ignoring the broken look on Sirius's face. She went to go tell James and Remus what she decided, and they _would_ follow along with it, if they knew Lily Evans Potter.

If anything would be able to help Sirius change, it would be the absence of his godson in his life. The rest was up to Sirius.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: I'm hoping to try to get Sirius to redeem himself. There is nothing that can excuse his behavior in my opinion, but I tried to give a valid reason for him acting as he did. I'm hoping he will choose to change! **_

_**As always, I hope you'll tell me what you like and what you didn't.**_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry it's been so long since the last update. I've been busy with visiting other states and having to bury my grandmother. I hope you like it.

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><p>"Dada."<p>

James, who was sitting on the couch, reading the Daily Prophet, looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Harry, who was sitting on the floor with his toys surrounding him, just looked at James and smiled his toothy smile.

"Dada."

"Harry?" James questioned, just about speechless.

"… 'Arry," he sounded out. Then looking back at his father, Harry demanded, "Dada!"

"Harry!" James jumped off the couch, grabbing Harry and throwing him in the air, making the boy squeal in delight.

"Lily! Come here quick!" James yelled, causing Lily to come running into the room like her bum was on fire.

"What's wrong? Is Harry okay? Why are you smiling like that? Is my baby okay!" Lily demanded, looking like a crazy woman with her hair falling out of its ponytail from running so fast.

"Dada!" Harry piped up from his father's arms, looking at his dad with a smile on his face. Catching sight of his mother, Harry got an unusual look on his face. One could say it was almost a look of concentration, or as close as you could get on a baby's face.

"…Mama," Harry said slowly, trying the word out in his mouth. Lily gasped, grabbing her son from her husband.

"What did you say, Harry?" She asked at a near whisper.

"Mama!" Harry repeated happily.

At seven months of age, it was about time that Harry had started talking. James, Lily, and Remus had been trying to get Harry to talk for the past couple months, but he just smiled and laughed at them, blabbing away in his baby language. Now, a cold day in March, while it is snowing outside is when Harry James Potter decides to grace the world with his first words.

Laughing and crying, Lily just held her baby close to her, rocking him back a forth. James was holding his wife, when the thought of sharing this news entered into his head.

"I have to go Floo Moony and Padfoot!" He exclaimed, starting towards the fireplace, only to stop short at Lily's growl.

"Call Remus to give him the good news. I know that he will want to come over and see for himself. But you know that you are not to call Black. He knows what he needs to do if he would like to be able to see his godson."

"Lily…"

"James, do not start with me," Lily snapped, losing excitement over Harry's newest milestone. They have had this argument many times over the past few months. Ever since Lily had given Sirius the choice and Sirius had stormed out of the house, he had not been allowed back in, except for when he would be in the study planning their next moves with James and Remus. The times that he was in the house, Lily would take Harry and go upstairs and play with her son. It had become the routine since the fight over two months ago.

James hated having to keep his son away from his godfather and vice versa. He thought that Lily's choices for Sirius were a little too harsh, but agreed that the man needed to grow up. James wasn't unaware of the shortcomings that Sirius had. The kind of blind hatred Sirius harbored towards anyone he thought was a Death Eater would get them killed out on the field. But James also didn't think that holding Harry as the bargaining chip for Sirius to change would work either.

"If you do not want to tell Remus, then I will Floo him myself," Lily stated. Their furry friend had come a long way with Harry. From not wanting to hold him for fear of hurting him, to now tickling him silly and tossing him over his head. Remus views Harry as his own cub, part of his pack to be loved and protected.

"That's alright, Lils. I'll Floo Remus," James sighed, once again coming to a stalemate with his wife. Neither wanted to budge on this problem, and the one who was the worst affected was little Harry. Every time he saw Remus coming through the door, he would start squealing. Remus would come over and play with Harry for a few minutes. As soon as Remus left his line of sight, Harry would be staring at the door, looking for Sirius. When he didn't come in, Harry would start to whine. Lily would pick him up and bring him upstairs, trying to distract him. It would work after a while, but Harry was feeling the loss of his godfather keenly.

* * *

><p>Sirius, it turned out, was also missing his godson horribly. Not seeing his little pup for over two months was killing Sirius. However, not even his love for his godson was enough to make Sirius try to work out his hatred towards that greasy git.<p>

"It's not fair!" Sirius roared, throwing the glass that was in his hand. Shattering over the fireplace in the study of his ancestral home, the alcohol in the drink caused the fire to explode over the hearth, before dying back down just as quick.

"Why? Why should I have to accept that no good Death Eater? I don't have the Mark on my arm! I don't bow down and kiss the robes of a deranged wizard to save my stinking arse! Why can't she see that I'm right and _he's_ the one that's wrong? Why do I stand losing my best friends and my godson, while that son of a bitch just sits in his house, probably inventing ways to make his hair even greasier?" Looking up and pinching the bridge of his nose, Sirius felt the fight go out of him. Shaking his head slowly, he lowered it into his hands. Looking the picture of a poor, dejected soul, Sirius Black was forced to face his choices. Lose his pride, or lose his family?

* * *

><p>Severus was busy packing. He was not staying in England any longer than he had to. He did what he wanted to do; save his only friend from childhood. But he couldn't stay. It was too painful to stay knowing that she had chosen another man over him. While he expected it, it was still to raw of a wound.<p>

'_Why did I ever expect anything different?'_ Severus berated himself. _'Did I really think that a silly little letter would change her mind? Make her drop Potter and come and live with me; love me the way she loves that arrogant toe rag?'_

Suffering a long sigh, Snape just shook his head and continued to pack his belonging by hand. He didn't have that much to make it take long. Where he was heading, he didn't know. All he did know was that he just wanted to make a fresh start.

So absorbed in his thoughts, Severus was startled when he heard a loud crash, followed by screaming. He rushed to his window to see what was going on. Looking out, Snape was speechless.

Outside his gates was a dented motorbike. Still smoking, the bike was laying in the middle of the street.  
>The owner of the bike made no move to try and clean up the mess or call anyone to help him. It was to the owner that Snape's attention was now drawn.<p>

Standing outside the wards of his house, Sirius Black was now staggering around, yelling his head off. Not being able to hear what was being said, Severus opened his window just a crack to listen in.

"SNAPE! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU ARSE! ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME IN OR DO I HAVE TO STAND OUT HERE YELLING ALL NIGHT?" Severus was almost blown over by the sheer volume that reached his ears. What was the bloody prat doing? Trying to wake the whole neighborhood? Get himself killed by any Death Eaters that were drawn to the obvious charm he cast on himself to be heard all the way to the bloody Americas?

"Sniv-Snape! Come out here so I can see you! I wasn't kidding. I'll stay out here all night if I have to. I just….need to talk to you."

Rushing out the door to the end of his wards, Severus grabbed a hold of Sirius's sleeve as he came by and yanked him closer.

"Are you trying to get yourself and I killed, you fool?" He hissed in Black face, before the man pushed him back.

Brushing off the front of his robes, Black responded arrogantly, "I figured it was the fastest way to find you. Once my bike crashed your wards, I knew it was just a matter of making a lot of noise before you would come out to investigate. I just needed to talk to you."

"And you couldn't have sent a bloody owl?" Severus spat.

"Not like you would have read it if I did!"

"And for good measure! What the hell do you want? If you're here just to waste my time by yelling at me on my own property, I will kick you out now, and finish doing what I was doing before you came and interrupted me!" Snape was glaring at Sirius now, and the man was glaring back.

"I just need you to talk to Lily for me," Sirius stated after a few silent moments. He didn't know where to start, and he wasn't about to pour his heart out to his oldest rival.

"Why would I do that?" Severus sneered. "Whatever you have done to incur her wrath was probably well deserved and well overdue. Has she finally seen what a mangy mutt you are, and kicked you out of her house. I can't believe Potter would let her get rid of you, but I know very well that you don't say no to a Lily on a mission."

Snape watched in fascination, though no emotion showed on his face, as Black seemed to deflate before him.

"She took my godson away from me."

"And why would she do that?" Severus questioned. Even though he loathed the man and believed any child was better off with no contact from Black, the sorrow in his voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Because of you!" Sirius growled loudly, losing all traces of sorrow, white hot anger replacing it. "Because she cannot stand the fact that you _deserved_ all those pranks and that you're nothing more than a greasy git who needs to leave the country and leave us be! Because of you, I cannot see my godson; I cannot be with my best friends! It's your entire fault!" And with that, Sirius lunged at Severus…

Only to find himself forcibly ejected from Severus's house, the wards that Black forgot about taking effect. His face a mask of rage, Snape followed the path that Sirius's body made while it was flying through the air. Facing the heap at the edge of his wards, Severus spoke, his voice like ice.

"Yes, Black. Everything is _my_ fault. You are never going to grow up and face your own problems. You're going to find it much easier to blame everyone else for your mistakes, especially a greasy git like me. I have no feelings. What does it matter if _I_ get hurt? I can risk my life in protecting _you_ and your friends, but it's never enough. I could probably save all of England, but it would never be enough for you. I'm nothing but a Death Eater; I can _never_ atone for the mistakes I made, no matter what I do. Mistakes I made because you and your little group of friends _drove_ me to believe I had nothing else to live for. But yet, go on blaming me. It doesn't matter anymore. I give up. But know this, do not come running to me when you need help. I will no longer risk my neck for people who don't give a shit about what happens to me. Fight the Dark Lord on your own. Keep watch over your own family; after all you did that so well that you were going to have your best friends and your precious godson murdered by a traitorous _rat_ that you didn't even know was in your mists! You think I should leave the country? I quite agree. There is _nothing_ left for me here."

And with that declaration, Severus waved his wand, and his whole house seemed to disappear inside of a trunk that appeared out of nowhere. Clasping the handle of the trunk in one hand and his wand in the other, Severus turned on his heel. With a clap that sounded like thunder, Severus disapparated, and a great crash of sound followed as the wards around his house fell.

Sirius, who still lay on the ground in a heap, looked on with hateful eyes as his nemesis disappeared. With a shake of his head, he picked himself up off the ground. Grabbing his dented bike, he took off, not caring if anyone saw. He had to tell James about this newest turn of events.

* * *

><p>AN: So did you like it? Let me know what you thought. I'm hoping this gets portrayed right. Poor Severus can never catch a break. I think that Sirius would have never been able to change his relationship with Snape. But what will Lily think of all this?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope everyone enjoys! Let me know what you think!

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><p>There was a war taking place, both outside and inside the house of James and Lily Potter. It was almost the end of July and the first birthday of one Harry James Potter was fast approaching. However, James and Lily had not been able to have a peaceful moment together since that fateful night almost five months ago.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>OI! JAMES! LET ME IN!" Sirius screamed outside the door that refused him entry into the Potter Residence at Godric's Hollow. <em>

"_Padfoot?" Came James's questioning voice on the other side of the door. "What is the password that grants one access into the pranking world of the Marauders?"_

_Sighing, Sirius replied as fast as he could. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good. Now just open this damn door Prongs before I get Mad-Eye to open it for me."_

"_Okay, okay, okay, just give me a minute. What's the rush? We don't have another meeting until next week."_

_Sirius brushed past James and rushed into the sitting room. "I don't have time for that right now. Where's my pup? Bring my handsome godson in to play with me. I've missed my hairy little sprog!"_

"_Now I think that you have lost it completely, Padfoot. You know that Lily has placed that ban until you apologize to Snape." James reminded him while closing the door._

"_But that's the best part, Prongs! Snivelly is gone! He won't ever darken our doorway or our lives again! He packed up and left! You see, I actually went over there to try and reason with old Snivelly Snape; I tried to get him to just send Lily a letter so that I could see my pup again. He didn't want an apology anymore than I wanted to give him one, you see. So I figured that he could just write a letter to Lils, and then just disappear. Well, he didn't write the letter like I wanted him too, but he did disappear! He packed up all his greasy potions and left! I was there when the wards came crashing down! I'm surprised the muggles didn't come out of their houses. Probably weren't paying attention, not that they ever do. But isn't that great! So, with no Snivelly, I don't have to worry about Lily keeping my pup from me!"_

"_Severus is gone?"_

_Lily's voice came from the bottom of the stairs. Having heard all the shouting, she had laid Harry down before coming down just in time to catch the last part of Sirius's declaration._

"_Yes, Lily. Isn't that wonderful!" Sirius crowed, before trying to rush past her. "What's wrong, Lils? That greasy bat is gone. I want to see my godson."_

"_Get off those stairs, Sirius Orion Black."_

_Sirius froze. Something in Lily's voice didn't bode well for him. Turning around slowly, not even his Auror training could have prepared him for what happened next._

_Lily's wand was pointed at his face, aimed right in between his eyes._

"_What did you do?" Lily's voice was no more than a hiss._

"_What do you mean, 'what did I do'? I thought you would be happy, Lily. Snape is gone; you don't have to worry about being his friend anymore. My little pup can come and play with his godfather, now that he's not here to break us all apart. Probably how he wanted us, anyways. Easier to pick us off one by one if we are all on the outs with each other, anyways. So, now, we don't have to worry about anything."_

_Lily didn't say anything, just fired off a hex with her wand. Unfortunately for Sirius, it was the same hex he and James had used on Snape in their fifth year. He found himself handing upside down by his ankle in the middle of the living room. James made a strangled sound and waved his wand to try and free his best mate. But it didn't work._

"_What are you doing, Lily?!" James exclaimed, while Sirius was yelling to be put back on the ground. "Let him go!"_

"_Not until I learn the real reason that Severus left! He would have never left without saying goodbye to me! I'm his friend! Where did he go? What did you do to him this time? You just can't leave him alone, can you? You're more of a child than my son is, Black. Why must you hurt people, who haven't done anything to you, except defend themselves."_

"_Oh, come off it, Lily!" Sirius responded, yelping when the charm was cancelled abruptly and he fell headfirst into the hardwood floor._

"_You, Lily Potter, have heard Snivelly more than I ever could have." Sirius stood up slowly, rubbing his head and turning to face an irate Lily. "You call yourself his friend, yet hurt him whenever you are around him. You don't even know how he feels, do you?"_

"_What are you going on about Black? I would never hurt Severus, especially since he gave us news of the traitor in our mists. The news that saved our lives, if you don't remember," Lily rebuked. Her glare would be enough to set fire to kindle wood._

"_Oh, you would never hurt someone intentionally. I never said you were a mean or unkind person. But you _have_ hurt him. Whether you want to face up to it or not, you have," Sirius drawled, sounding much like the pureblood he was raised as, but never became. "Every day you would trample on his greasy heart. Me and James thought it was awfully funny to see a greasy half-blood Slytherin Death Eater pining after a muggleborn Gryffindor. But he did. You were the only one to not see it. No one wanted to tell you, thinking that the smart Lily Evens had to obviously see what was in front of her nose, or was just ignoring it for not wanting to hurt the greasy gits' feelings. But you really didn't _know_, did you? You never put two and two together. Then, to go off and start dating his enemy, that just _crushed_ old Snapey's spirit."_

"_Sirius!" James barked, watching the color draining out of Lily's face. "That's enough. Calm down."_

"_Oh, no. She needs to hear this! She wants to be so uppity thinking that we were the only ones who harmed the great big bat. All we did was play a few pranks. We didn't break his heart. That's right, Lily," Sirius continued, turning back to face her when he heard her gasp. "Old Slytherin Snape loved you, or that's what everyone else said. I could never see how he could ever love anything more than his stupid chemistry set. And seeing you with Prongs killed him. But he turned his sorrow into anger. And that's how Malfoy got his claws into Snivelly. Then, just think, you got married and had a baby with his enemy. His chances to woo you were never going to happen, now. He knew he would never be able to confess how he felt. Do you have any idea how you hurt him just being over his house that night? Parading your perfect family in front of the man who loved you throughout school. How _horrible_ of you, to not even take his feeli-"_

_Sirius was standing one minute, on the floor the next. Lily was holding onto James at this point, clinging to him for her life. James was just looking down at Sirius, who was trying to stem the flow of blood coming out of his nose. James had punched him. His best mate had punched him!_

"_Get out, Sirius. Just go. I don't know how you could do this to her, reduce her to tears like this. You like to say that you're better than your family, but you have just proven how alike you actually are. I thought you were better than this, but I guess I was wrong. When are you going to grow up, Sirius? When will you stop hurting others because you don't want to deal with the hurt you feel inside?"_

"_Prongs, what are you saying?" Sirius asked, not believing what he was hearing._

"_I'm saying that you are not welcome back into this house until you get Lily to forgive you, if she will ever forgive you. Please, Sirius, don't make this any harder than it already is. Just leave. Think about what happened here tonight, and give Lily time to get over what has happened. I love you like a brother, Sirius, but I can't help you anymore. I can't make excuses for what you did tonight. You will have to find a way to get Lily to forgive you on your own. It will be hard, and I don't know if you have the maturity to succeed."_

_James had placed Lily on the couch, and was walking Sirius to the front door. With a final goodbye, the door was shut in Sirius's face._

* * *

><p>Ever since, Sirius had not been able to set foot in the Potter Household. Lily couldn't believe what Sirius had said to her. The truth was, she never did know that Severus had liked her like that. It was a cruel way to find out the main reason behind Severus leaving. He did his job as a friend and warned her about the danger. He even put his hatred for James to the side to warn Lily about the fate that awaited her family if they continued to blindly trust. And how did she repay him? She hurt him even more; bringing her family to his house; making him hold the proof of her and James's love for each other.<p>

'_How could I be so stupid?'_ Lily thought to herself. Deep down, Lily now harbored the fear that Severus turned to the Death Eaters, not just because of what the boys did to him, but because she, herself, hurt him deeply.

* * *

><p>While Lily was beating herself up, James was missing Sirius. While he stood by what he said that night, and was upset at the way Sirius treated Lily, he still missed his best mate. He knew that Sirius had tried apologizing; seeing all the letters in the garbage was a dead giveaway. It made him angry that there was nothing that he could do to fix this. This was between Sirius and Lily and no one else could make it any better. But it didn't stop him from trying.<p>

"Hey, Lils," James started when he sat down at the table after kissing his son and wife. "I see that Sirius wrote you a letter this morning. Are you going to read it?"

"I will if I want to, James, so please stop asking me," Lily replied, exasperated. "I don't know if I want to give that mangy mutt the time of day."

"Lily, please. He is sorry. I agree that what he said to you and how he said it was out of line, but he wants to make it better. Give him a chance."

"Like he gave Severus a chance?!" Lily snarled back.

Harry, who was sitting up in his highchair, was looking back and forth between his mother and father, oddly quiet. He somehow knew that something was wrong, and wanted to make his mum and dad smile.

"Mama, Dada!"

When he had their attention, he smiled and waved. They sighed and turned back to each other, talking in heated tones.

Harry didn't like being ignored. "Mama! Dada!" When that failed to get their attention, he starting trying to be louder. "Mama! Dada! 'Ook! 'Arry!" When that still didn't work, Harry did something truly amazing.

A crack was heard throughout the house, and made Lily and James jump. On the table in between his mother and father, sat Harry James Potter, giggling and clapping his hands. The young baby was oblivious to performing his first act of accidental magic.

"Lily," James whispered, all thoughts of Sirius forgotten.

"I saw it too, James. Tell me I wasn't dreaming," the red headed witch replied, just as softly.

"Unless I was having the same dream, I doubt it, love."

Harry was still giggling and clapping his hands. "Mama! Dada!" Looking over his parents' shoulders, the little boy started squealing very loudly.

"Mooy! Pafoo! Mooy, Pafoo!"

Remus and Sirius stepped softly into the kitchen.

"Hey there pup, what are you doing sitting on the table?" Remus said, smiling at the toddler, who was still waving at Sirius.

"My son just apparated from his high chair to the table in between Lily and I," James replied, still in shock over the whole thing.

"My sprog apparated and I wasn't here to see it?" Sirius asked, scooping up Harry and tossing him into the air, much to the child's delight.

"What are you doing here, Black?" Lily's cold voice stopped the next toss dead in its tracks.

"Please, Lily, you weren't answering my letters. I just wanted to talk to you. To apologize for what I said. Please listen to me?" Sirius begged.

"Why should I?" was the cold response.

"Because I am sorry for hurting you. I didn't want to hurt you. I was just mad that you were still defending Snape over me and I just lost it." Sirius bowed his head, waiting to see what Lily's response would be.

"Because Severus doesn't have anyone else to defend him. I have to defend him against not just you, but my husband as well! The only one who doesn't put down poor Severus is poor Remus, and that's probably because he still feels guilty for almost _killing_ him. Guilt _you_, Black, should be carrying on your shoulders, since it was your idiotic _'prank'_ to begin with!"

"I know," was Sirius's soft reply. "I just want my friends and family back. I feel so torn up over this, like my life isn't whole. I have no one else to turn too."

Remus had his head bowed, the guilt of what he had almost done coming back full force. It never quite left, but he tried to push it aside as much as possible. He felt Sirius's hand on his shoulder, and felt the other man's reassurance in the small squeeze.

"Well, I'm glad you feel like that, because that is how Severus feels all the time. He _doesn't_ have anyone else to turn to. You lost me my first and best friend, Black. And while I will accept some of the blame for being so short sighted, I will not forgive you for that. You have gone too far, once again, and I don't believe that you deserve forgiveness for it."

"Lily, look at Harry. Look how happy he is to be back in his godfather's arms," James said. Harry was staring up and babbling incoherently to his godfather, who's smile would light up the room when he laid his eyes on his godson.

"Please, Lily, I can see what a prick I was in school, and I am sorry. I did try to write a letter to Snape, but the owl wouldn't accept it. I even brought it with me to prove to you that I'm not lying."

Holding out a wrinkled piece of parchment, Sirius gave Lily the letter addressed to Severus Snape. Wasting no time, Lily walked over to James's owl who was sitting on his perch next to the fireplace.

The owl opened his eyes, looked at the letter in Lily's hand, and gave a hoot.

"Would you mind delivering this for me please?"

Ruffling his feathers, the owl turned his back towards Lily and closed his eyes once again.

Lily sighed, and turned back to James with tears in her eyes.

"I've lost him," she whispered to herself, the tears falling. James came over and wrapped his wife in a hug, holding her while she cried. She let the guilt of treating Severus so horribly wash over here while she sobbed into James's chest.

"It's my entire fault. He's really gone. I've lost my first friend. He won't ever know how sorry I am for what I did to him."

Everyone, even Harry, was silent as Lily grieved for the loss of her friend. Once she stopped, Lily turned her puffy red eyes onto Sirius.

"Black, I stand by what I said. I will not forgive you. You may come and see your godson, but do not expect the friendship we had to ever be repaired. James is your best mate, and that's fine. Just don't expect that from me. Our friendship will be over unless I ever hear Severus say that he forgives you. Considering that I cannot even send post to him, I consider that unlikely. If you ever want my forgiveness, you better get Severus's first.

With that, Lily Potter walked upstairs to her room and locked the door. She cried. She cried for the friendship she lost and the friendship she would never regain.

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><p>AN: How was it? I know it was a bit morbid, but everyone has dark times. What is Severus up too? What about Dumbledore? Let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

**_A/N: Here we are! I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoy!_**

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><p>Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore was currently in a sticky situation. Pacing around his office, he was trying to figure out what direction his grand plan should take. He had not heard from the Potters for several months. He had tried to send letters to Black, but no response was to be found. He had even tried to contact Mr. Lupin, but nothing resulted from that either. Who did these youngsters think they were, trying to ignore him?! The audacity!<p>

_It may be time for a visit in person._ But wait! He still did not know where the Potters now resided. That they performed the charm and did not tell him about it was another affront to a man of his station. Albus would have much to talk about with the Potters. They needed to see his way of thinking. It really would be the only way for the boy to become a willing soldier. He doubted that it was the Longbottom boy, but Frank and Alice were proving a little more cooperative. He actually had a meeting with them later this week to meet the boy, Neville, he believed they named him. Maybe that was the key? Albus would have the Longbottoms send a message to the Potters and force their meeting that way. Would the Potters have kept in touch with the Longbottoms? Would their letter get through the Charm hiding the Potters?

Looking towards the empty perch enraged Dumbledore all the more. He had not seen beak or feather of that ruddy phoenix since the night of the Potters' boy's birth. Fawkes was not responding to any of his charms to call the bird back to him. Knowing that the burning days always weakened his hold on Fawkes, Albus was left to wonder if his charms had worn off completely. Shaking his head, Albus dismissed that ridiculous notion. Fawkes was only a bird. How could a creature throw off the charms of the most powerful wizard alive? Chuckling, Albus rethought the idea and knew that the phoenix must be too far away. He would come back. How could he not? He was the servant of Albus Dumbledore. Other phoenixes, if there were any left, would kill for that position.

For now, Albus sat down at his desk and started composing a letter to Frank and Alice. He told them he had grave news and would have to talk to them as soon as possible. Oh, and would it be possible for them to contact the Potters' and tell them to come as well? He looked forward to their quick response. Smiling to himself, Albus could see his plan coming back together.

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><p>In Longbottom Manor, Augusta Longbottom, mother to Frank Longbottom and grandmother to one recently christened Neville Longbottom, took a look through the daily post. Seeing a letter for her son and daughter-in-law, Augusta waited at the table, where the family had breakfast together each morning.<p>

Hearing the tell-tale signs of Neville waking up, Augusta didn't have to wait very long before her family arrived in the kitchen and greeted her.

"How are you this morning, mother?" Frank asked, bending down to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Just fine, darling, those these old bones are not what they used to be. They protest more each morning about waking up with the birds."

"Why don't you ever sleep in, mother Longbottom? No one else deserves to more than you," was the comment that came from Alice while she was seating her son in his high chair.

"My dear, I have told you time and time again. A woman cannot let anything stand in the way of taking care of her family. You're family is the most important, and no mother can let such trivialities get in the way of her duty. These bones will do as I tell them to as long as I am able to boss them around," was the rebuke from Augusta. She loved her daughter-in-law, but sometimes the girl didn't seem to grasp how important family was, how important a mother's role in the family was. A mother shouldn't be concerned about getting a job. That was for the man of the house. The woman was supposed to stay home and keep house and tend the children. But, these children nowadays had no respect for the old way of doing things.

Alice just continued putting Neville in his high chair. She had heard her mother-in-law go on about the same issue time and time again. Augusta just didn't understand that she wasn't happy staying home all day long. She wanted to take care of Neville while he was young, but once he was a bit older, she wanted to get back out into the work force. The reason her and Frank lived with his mother is because Frank did not make enough as a ministry worker for them to have their own place. They were slowly saving up and were hoping to have their own place by the new year.

"Mother Longbottom, would you like eggs this morning, or just toast?" Alice turned her attention back to Augusta, having seen that Neville would not be able to escape from his chair, like he had done yesterday morning.

"Just toast, my dear. I am feeling a bit peckish this morning. Oh and before I forget, this letter arrived in the post for you and Frank. It bears the Hogwarts seal on it." Augusta passed the letter over to Frank, who was sitting at the table with his mother while Alice was preparing eggs and toast for everyone. Setting the pan on the table for everyone, Alice took a small plate and began mashing up some scrambled eggs for Neville to pick at with his fingers. He was at that independent stage where he refused to let his mother or father help him eat. It resulted in a very messy boy at the end of all their meals, but nothing a quick _scorgify_ didn't fix.

Frank opened the letter. "It's from Dumbledore," he stated before he continued to read on. His face fell, and he did not touch his food. Finishing the letter, he set it down with a sigh, before looking around the table. He met his mother and Alice's worried glance.

"What did Dumbledore want, Frank?" Alice asked softly, moving to pick up the letter. Reading it, she gasped before the letter fell out of her hand.

"What does it mean, Frank?" Alice questioned, her voice wavering.

"What does what mean?" Augusta demanded, looking from her son to Alice and back again.

"It means, mother, that Alice and I must make an emergency trip to see Dumbledore. Would you mind watching Neville while we are gone? We should only be a couple hours." Frank answered, looking at his mother, while Alice waved her wand to vanish the eggs out of Neville's hair. The boy giggled in delight, not picking up on the tense atmosphere.

At the sound of her grandson's laugher, Augusta turned her head, and her eyes softened. She loved her grandson beyond compare. "Of course I would not mind watching the dear. He will be good for his grandmother, will you not young Neville?"

"Gama! Gama!" Neville squealed, waving his arms and his legs wildly.

"Thank you mother, we will be back," Frank replied, moving to kiss his son upon his head and his mother upon her cheek. Alice did the same, thanking Augusta as well. "You be a good boy for your grandmother, Neville."

"Dadda! Mama!"

"I will take that as a yes, Neville Longbottom," Alice smiled, waving a finger at her son playfully, causing him to laugh again.

Frank and Alice walked over to the fireplace in the living room. Grabbing a pinch of powder off the mantle, Frank tossed it into the fireplace, causing it to turn green. Sticking his head into the flames, Frank called out, "Headmaster of Hogwarts' Office!"

Albus Dumbledore's head appeared on the other side of the flames, as if there was a removable panel in the wall.

"Mr. Longbottom, how are you my dear boy?" Albus exclaimed, his blue eyes twinkling.

"I am a bit worried about the letter you sent us, Headmaster. May Alice and I step through to discuss it with you?" Frank replied gravely.

"Yes, yes, please come through. Oh, but were you able to get in touch with the Potter's as I asked," Dumbledore questioned in a steady voice, though his heart was beating rapidly.

Pausing, Frank withdrew his head and looked at Alice, who shook her head as well. Putting his head back into the flames, Frank replied in the negative.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, but we do not seem to remember where the Potter's live. Did they perform the charm already? They haven't sent you an owl yet?"

Dumbledore eyes' hardened, but so quickly the Longbottoms' never noticed. "Never you mind, child, just come on through. The Potters will be at the next order meeting, and I will talk to them then. It is of utmost importance that I talk to you now."

A shell-shocked Alice and Frank Longbottom sat in the Headmaster's office. Alice had tears silently streaming down her face, while Frank was just gripping the armchair so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"How certain are you of this Headmaster?" Frank asked solemnly.

"Very certain, Mr. Longbottom. There is only one other child that this prophesy could refer to, and until I contact the Potters, young Neville is the only child that this prophesy could point to." Bending his head and cupping it with his hands, Dumbledore played the part of a saddened, concerned, grandfather very well.

"Please, Headmaster, what can you do to protect my child?" Alice's teary voice was heard at last.

"Well, there is one idea I had. It is the only way that I have found that gives Neville any chance of surviving, but it would require a great sacrifice on your part…"

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><p>The Potters were enjoying an afternoon spent in their yard. Harry was now grabbing onto the chairs and any other stationary object in his path to pull himself up. He would amuse himself for hours just walking up and down the length of couch indoors; or around and around the round table in the middle of the living room. With his first birthday right around the corner, it seemed that Harry Potter was developing as normally as any other magical child would.<p>

The only time Lily was able to truly smile was when she was looking at her son. She had fallen into a deep depression ever since her failed attempt to send Severus a letter a week ago. She was trying to plan a party for her son's first birthday, but her heart wasn't in it. She and James weren't on the best of terms. James understood, or said he did, of her not speaking to Sirius, but it put him in the middle, and he thought that Lily was dwelling too much on the whereabouts of Snape. He was gone. If he wanted to contact Lily, than he would. Otherwise he just wanted to be left alone. And Lily should respect that and get on with her life. That was James's view on the matter.

But Lily couldn't let go of the guilt she felt for her part in hurting Severus. And she still blamed Black for his part in causing Severus to leave so fast. She held by her promise and did not try and keep Harry from his godfather, but she didn't speak a single word to Sirius. Wouldn't even look at him if he came into the room, if she was to be honest. She would talk to Remus, but only short sentences, and would find an excuse to leave and be on her own when they came over.

"So who are we going to invite to the party, Lily? I want to make a list of them. I lost the first one," James said sheepishly, drawing Lily out of her inner dilemma. They had decided that the best place to have the party was in their own yard. While James was concerned about having all those people knowing where they lived, Lily was the one who reasoned that they would only tell a couple of people where they were and would have the rest floo in from a secure place. They did not want to leave the safety of the wards, even for Harry's first birthday. Lily sighed, and then turned to her husband.

"Well, we want to invite people who have kids around his age, first of all. The party is for him, not for us. So I figured we could start with Frank and Alice. They should have a child by now, because Alice and I were pregnant at the same time. We had the same due dates as a matter of fact. The last time I saw her was at an order meeting shortly before we set up the wards."

"I wonder if they had a son or a daughter. We will have to ask them. What about the Bones'? They had a daughter didn't they?" James asked his wife, while watching Harry walking from chair to chair by grabbing hold of his parents' legs. "Susan, I believe her name was. Oh, and the Weasley's? They have all those kids, but didn't Arthur's wife have a son a few months before Harry was born? Remember, she missed those Order meetings, Arthur was so busy telling everyone about his youngest son."

Lily gave a shudder. "I could never imagine having six children. Harry is enough of a handful as it is. But we could invite them, I guess. I just never really talked to them. I got the feeling Molly didn't approve of me much. She was asking me, after we first got married, when we were going to start having children. I told her I didn't want to have a child before the war ended, but you see how that went," she said, giving James a sly smirk. "I also told her I wanted to go to St. Mungo's to become a Healer before I settled down to have a family. She was shocked. Asked me who would take care of you if I wasn't home to cook your meals. She even told me that it was my role as the wife of a pureblooded wizard to make sure he produced an heir, especially since in war, times were so uncertain and the family had to carry on."

"I told her that you knew how to cook for yourself and that I was only a newlywed wife and that I wanted to have a life before being tied down by a child. Especially during war times. I didn't want any child of ours growing up without a father."

Lily turned to James, who just shook his head. "They are more from my parent's generation, is all. My mother was more open-minded like you, but she was a Black woman, after all. They are known for their frankness. My grandmother, however, would say the same thing as Molly told you. So would Augusta, probably, if you asked her. It's the way of most purebloods to think. Women are good for child rearing and taking care of their husbands in pureblooded society. But of course, that's not how I think, darling!" James hastily exclaimed at the look on Lily's face.

"What is it with you purebloods and your oppression of women?" Lily asked, turning her body to grab Harry, who was trying to put some grass in his mouth. "No, Harry, that's nasty."

"Aty! No, aty!" Harry repeated, clapping his dirt covered hands.

"It's time for a bath, young man." Lily turned back to James, who also got up and started walking to the door together. "So we have the Longbottoms, the Bones, the Weasleys, who else do we know with children?"

"We could always ask the others to invite a few other people with children Harry's age, if you wanted. I would prefer to keep it small, so maybe those would be the only people we would need. But I would agree with whatever you would like to do," James tired of fighting with his wife. He couldn't help but harbor a small amount of hatred for Severus Snape. He started all of this and pulled apart his family. Yes, he did give them information that saved their lives, but he also started this feud. James couldn't help but think it was best that Snape was gone. After a while, Lily would forget about him and his family would go back to normal. James was certain of it.

"I think you're right. We should just keep it small. But who are we going to tell the address too?" Lily asked.

James opened his mouth to respond but didn't get a word out before a huge flash of light was seen in the middle of the yard. With a beautiful cry, Fawkes burst out of the fiery air.

"Oh no, we forgot about Dumbledore's phoenix!" Lily cried out, holding Harry tighter. "He can find us now!"

"Wait, Lily," James called out, looking at Fawkes who was hovering in midair, singing a soothing song. "I don't think he is here to bring Dumbledore to us. Look at him. He's just waiting, for what I don't know."

Harry, who had been quiet up to this point, locked eyes with Fawkes. The phoenix gave a delighted trill, and Harry started squealing, before a gold flash of light surrounded the area.

Opening their eyes, which had been blinded against the bright glow, Lily and James Potter were shocked at the sight of their baby boy floating in midair next to a red and gold phoenix.

"Well," James cleared his throat. "I guess we don't have to worry about a secure way to get the guests here for the party!"

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><p>AN: So what did you think? Like it? Let me know. I can't wait to get the next chapter up!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I just have to shout out a big THANK YOU to everyone for their support of this story. I was a bit nervous about the last chapter, but you all made my day with the wonderful things you had to say. I know a couple people were confused about James's comment about his mother. His mother was Dorea Potter nee Black. Yes, his mother came from the Black family. I am going by the tapestry Rowling made of the Black family. I hope you keep reading and that you let me know what you like and don't like about the story!

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><p>A week after Fawkes flamed into the Potter Residence, and Lily still could not believe that the phoenix had chosen to bond to her son. Harry was upstairs taking a nap, and Fawkes was up there with him. The ruddy phoenix even sang her son to sleep!<p>

While most witches and wizards were under the assumption that phoenixes bonded with a wizard or witch who was aligned with and fought for the "light" side of magic, Lily knew otherwise. One of James's first ever Christmas presents to her was a rare tome that he had his father purchase for her about rare magical creatures. At the time, she was into her Care of Magical Creatures class, and wanted to know every detail about any animal that was known to exist in the magical world.

In it, she was astonished to learn that phoenixes actually chose what witch or wizard they wanted to bond to. And they didn't choose based upon the "light" or "dark" of a wizard. Instead, they chose upon the amount of power that wizard possessed. When Lily read that passage, it caused her to think. She figured that there was no light or dark of witches and wizards that she could see. There was only power and how a person chose how to use it.

_Look at Dumbledore_, she thought to herself. _He is supposed to be the greatest wizard of this age, and the Leader of the Light. But he withheld important information from us; information that was desperately needed to help protect my family. We didn't know why Voldemort continually targeted us, but he knew the reason. He heard that prophesy and he should have come straight to us to warn us. But he didn't tell us!_

Silently fuming at the injustice of it all, Lily walked towards James. "Did you make out the letters to send inviting everyone to the party yet?"

Looking up at Lily's sharp tone, James blinked, and then looked back down at his desk. He was in the study, in the process of making out the letters that Lily was asking him about. Sighing, Lily apologized.

"I'm just so frustrated with this whole mess. Why didn't Dumbledore tell us right after he heard the prophesy? I understand that he didn't know it pointed to us right away, but why not as soon as he figured it out? Severus figured it out after two weeks! Surely, Dumbledore could have figured it out before that? And we don't even know the entire thing, yet! So why hasn't he told us about it?"

James heaved a sigh, and looked at his wife. He did love her, has loved her since he first set eyes on her their first year on the train. But he just didn't know what to say anymore. He knew that Dumbledore knew the prophesy, but trying to blame the wizard for doing wrong went against everything that James was ever taught growing up.

"I'm not sure Lily, but I have these invites ready to owl out," was the safe reply James gave his wife.

"What did you tell them about how they would get here?" Lily asked, looking over the letters.

"I told the Weasleys that we would connect to their floo for five minutes at noon and five minutes around 3pm. I figured that they would be the only ones that could connect to their floo, so we didn't have to mention Fawkes to them, knowing they would question why we have the Headmaster's phoenix."

"What about the Longbottoms and the Bones'?"

"I just told them to be ready, but I did say that we had to be discreet and to not question how we got there. I thought that they would be less likely to ask why we have Fawkes and they won't mention it to Dumbledore." James looked at his wife, silently wondering if he did anything wrong. Lily, to his surprise, agreed to how he worded the letter and walked out of the study.

She went to find her owl, Artemis, so she could send the letters out. They were hoping to have Harry's birthday the upcoming Friday. It would fall directly on Harry's birthday, which of course Harry wouldn't know, but it would be nice all the same. As it was already Monday, she was eager to send out the letters to give people enough notice to plan to come.

Lily wasn't sure she was ready to have a whole brood of Weasleys in her house, but she would have to make due. She would love it if little Neville and Susan became Harry's best friends, but didn't know the Weasleys that well.

"Here you go, Artemis. One goes to the Weasleys, one to the Bones, and one to the Longbottoms, please," Lily said, tying the letters to the leg of her faithful owl. "The Marauders don't need letters. I know that James will be telling Remus and Black soon enough. I just don't know what to do, boy," she sighed, while Artemis gave a concerned hoot. "Please be safe flying. I know you can out fly anything, but don't take any chances." Fluffing up his feathers, Artemis gave her finger a nibble before he took off out of the window she opened for him.

Hearing Harry giggle through the monitoring charm she placed on him, Lily headed upstairs to his room to get her now awake son ready for lunch.

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><p>Frank and Alice were outside walking the grounds with Augusta and Neville. Neville had surprised everyone by starting to walk by himself only a few days ago. While he was holding onto his daddy's hand with all his might, little Neville was a terror to be reckoned with now that he was independently mobile.<p>

"Look over there, dear," Alice called, pointing up into the sky where she could see a grey owl flying towards the small group.

"I wonder who that could be." Augusta queried, watching the owl swoop down and land on Frank's outstretched arm.

"Oh, it's a letter from Lily and James!" Alice exclaimed, taking the letter that Frank offered. The owl took right back off into the sky. "They are having a birthday party for their son. His name is Harry and he was born only a day after we had Neville. They were already in hiding by that point, and didn't know if we had a boy or girl."

"This party could be the perfect opportunity to talk to them about what Dumbledore wanted as well," Frank mused, while Augusta pursed her lips and didn't say anything at all.

When Frank and Alice had come back from their meeting with Dumbledore, they were chalk white and scared stiff. No amount of questioning from her could make them talk. It wasn't until she threatened to go to Dumbledore herself and hex the man that Alice started telling her a little of what went on at the meeting.

Alice didn't tell her the prophesy word for word, but Augusta thought it was hogwash. She was only a decade younger than Dumbledore himself. No one else in her family knew exactly how old she was, not even her son. The only person who knew besides Dumbledore was her dearly departed husband, and he wasn't going to be able to tell anyone from beyond the grave. Because of her age, though, she never fell into the entire Dumbledore is great frenzy. She saw him for exactly what he was, an old man who has made many mistakes in his life. Mistakes that she knows he goes to great lengths to cover up.

She didn't like the blind trust that her son and Alice had in the man. But they wouldn't hear a word against him, to her dismay. And without them telling her what the damn prophesy contained, she didn't have a way to deny what he was saying.

"It is inviting all of us, mother Longbottom," Alice's voice broke Augusta out of her thoughts. "Please say that you will come. Maybe you can talk more to Lily and James with us. Dumbledore was ever so worried that he couldn't reach them. He was supposed to perform the charm for them, but they went into hiding without telling him. Can you imagine that?"

Augusta widened her eyes. "Albus told you that, did he?"

Alice reddened, "Well no, but I'm great at reading between the lines. He just said that he couldn't reach him. But knowing that they went into hiding when Lily was pregnant, and that Dumbledore couldn't reach them, I figured that they must have performed the charm without him present. I don't know why, though. Any charm that Dumbledore would perform is bound to be more effective than any without him, isn't it?"

Augusta thought quickly. Maybe that Evans girl has more brains than she originally thought. Augusta remembered Frank talking about Lily Evens all those years ago. Seemed to her that he harbored a little crush on Lily, but that quickly died out, especially when he would talk about James chasing after the poor girl. He would always come home recanting tales of what James and his gang of miscreants would do to try and capture Evans's attention. Maybe Lily was finally getting through to James and they were breaking away from the Headmaster's grip, slowly.

"Yes," she finally said. "I think I will come. After all, it's only a day after Neville's birthday. And I would love to see my grandson make some friends. It would due for all of us to have a nice day outing, I say."

Frank and Alice smiled to each other. Frank picked up Neville, and they proceeded into the house to get ready. The party was only a few days away after all. What would they be able to give a one year old wizard for his first birthday present?

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><p>Dumbledore was bent over his desk in his office, getting all the paperwork straightened out for the upcoming school year. He was already getting Hogwarts letters' back from returning students and eager first years. All of his teachers were out delivering the letters to the first year muggleborn students. It was almost August, and that only left about a month before the start of the new school year.<p>

He was busy signing the new teacher contracts when a tawny owl flew in the window. Sighing, Dumbledore once again looked at the empty perch where Fawkes should have been roosting. Dumbledore still didn't know what happened to the bird and it was an irritating point. He didn't want to think that Fawkes shook all the enchantments he had placed on the bird, but he was running out of viable excuses for the bird's long absence. He just didn't think a phoenix would have enough power to overthrow _his_ spell work!

Shaking his head, Albus took the letter the owl was offering. Waving his wand, an owl treat appeared for the bird to take. Turning his back on the treat, the owl flew out the window, causing Albus to grind his teeth. _How rude_, he thought, _to not take an offered treat. Bloody bird was lucky I even thought to give him one._

Dumbledore opened the letter, and his frown soon turned upside down. The letter was from the Longbottoms!

_Dear Headmaster,_

_You had asked us to get in touch with you if we were able to make contact with the Potters. We didn't make contact with them, but they just sent us a letter asking us to come to their son's first birthday party this Friday. We accepted, of course. We are a bit sad that we don't live near any other magical children, and thought that this would present a wonderful opportunity for Neville to make some friends._

_Frankly, we are not sure how we are getting to their house at all. They just told us to be ready and they would be there around noon to pick us up. You don't think they are going to try and use muggle transportation, do you? I have never travelled muggle, though Alice's best friend at Hogwarts was muggleborn and she told Alice all about something called a car? It's a contraption with four wheels and it moves on its own! Maybe the muggles are confused and are calling a carriage by the wrong name. If it's moving on its own, perhaps the muggles can't see the thestrals pulling the carriage?_

_Well, we are awaiting the party anxiously. We will tell the Potters to get in contact with you as soon as they can. After all, their party is only a day after Neville's birthday as well. So the festivities will be never ending this week it seems. A child's first birthday is always something spectacular to celebrate._

_Sincerely,_

_Frank and Alice Longbottom_

Albus smiled to himself. Finally, it seemed, he would be making headway on the Potter front. It was of upmost importance that he meet with them to tell them about the prophesy. He needed to have their child under his control, or how else did the child stand a chance of surviving a meeting with Voldemort without his tutelage?

Perhaps he would send word with the Longbottoms that he also had to give James back an artifact that he had borrowed some time ago. While he didn't want to lose his grip on one of the Hallows, Albus felt it would be a tradeoff in order to talk to the Potters. Now that he knew where that Hallow was, he could always get it back at a later date.

Grinning, Albus cleared the papers in front of him and began to compose another letter to the Longbottoms.

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><p>AN: Hope you all enjoyed it. With the next chapter come some festivities in the form of a child's first birthday party. Boy am I glad that I'm not one of those parents.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Next chapter up. I send love to everyone who reviewed. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Everyone has questions, but I'm afraid this chapter will raise more questions than it will answer.

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><p>Lily was exhausted. She was beyond exhausted after the party that afternoon. Sighing, she bent over and picked up another piece of wrapping paper off the ground. James had started to laugh at her when she starting cleaning up the 'muggle' way. She just told him he was too lazy to do any real work, relying on his magic for everything. He shot back that magic had no point if you didn't use it. Sirius, surprisingly, had stayed silent through the entire exchange, though he had a smirk on his face. Remus, bless his heart, tried to get James to leave her alone; telling him that Lily had the right to clean how she wanted and that exercise like that was good for everyone. Finally, he left, saying he was going to take up all of Harry's presents to his room, before leaving to meet with Dumbledore to get the Cloak back.<p>

Harry was asleep in his parent's room, having passed out after everyone had left. Lily smiled, thinking back to her son's first birthday party.

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><p>"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted at Harry when Lily brought him into the living room from the kitchen. Harry was startled; pressing his head into his mother's chest, while Lily looked around at everyone's smiling faces. The Bones' had their smiling daughter, Susan, by the hand. She was laughing and giggling, hopping up and down while her mother and father held tightly to each hand. Frank and Alice were standing right next to the Bones' with little Neville in his mother's arms. Neville was looking around at all the noise, not sure if he should laugh or cry. Augusta was standing next to her son and daughter-in-law, surveying the scene with an eagle eye.<p>

With the Bones' and the Longbottoms' there were questions about the phoenix, but neither family had known that Dumbledore was missing his familiar. So there were no awkward questions to dodge. They just told the truth in the fact that the phoenix had shown up one day and just stayed on with the family, but they wanted to keep quiet about it. No reason to draw any more attention to them, was there?

The largest, and loudest, group was the Weasley brood. They were the only guests at the party that Lily and James had connected to the floo. True to the Weasleys form, it took the entire five minutes to get the whole family through, even going so far as to only make it with 5 seconds to spare. Lily was just glad that Fawkes didn't make the trip. She was certain that he would have had to make two trips. Not even a phoenix would have been able to carry that entire family in one shot!

Because it was July 31st, none of the children were in school. Bill was the oldest child at 10 and was excited to start Hogwarts next year. He was going to turn 11 in November, and had to wait the additional year to start Hogwarts. Charlie was only 8 and looked up to his older brother for the answers to life. Percy was going to turn 5 in just a few weeks and the twins, Fred and George, were only 3. Lily couldn't see how Molly could tell the two apart; they were identical down to the last freckle. Privately, Lily thought that Molly only pretended she could tell the twins apart. She had caught the woman calling the twins by the wrong name. They only laughed at her and ran away. Ron was her youngest child, and had just turned a year old a few months ago. He seemed a little surly, always whining to get some attention. Probably came from just having a large family.

And their large family seemed to be growing. Molly was already 8 months along with their seventh child. It was a girl, which was cause for celebration in its own right. According to Arthur, this was to be the first girl born in several generations. The man was so happy, he seemed to be glowing more than Molly. Molly was just ready for the child to come out. She loved her children, but she told Lily that she didn't want any more any time soon.

"Come on, Harry," Lily said to her son, shifting him in her arms to face the crowd. "We have to say hi to everyone! They are here for your birthday! You're one year old today!"

Everyone started walking, or running in the kids' case, outside where the table was set up. Lily didn't want to make a huge spectical of the yard or the house, telling the other's that Harry wouldn't even remember the party when he grew up. But Black didn't listen, as usual, and made it his mission in life to have as many balloons and streamers and signs hanging all over the place as possible. Lily did have to grudgingly admit that he did a great job. She even told him so, in clipped tones. He just gave polite thanks and looked at her with sadness in his eyes. Turning her back on him, Lily walked back to where Harry was sitting on the ground, surrounded by Susan, Neville, and Ron. The older kids were having fun with an enchanted piñata under one of the trees.

Susan, Neville, and Harry were all sitting there 'talking' to one another. Only one work out of every five was able to be understood. Ron was on the fringes of the group, trying to talk, but whining when the others didn't listen to him.

"No, 'On!" Harry exclaimed when the younger boy tried to grab his hair. "Uan! Help 'Arry!" Susan heard Harry's cry for help, and promptly smacked Ron on his hand. Ron turned red in the face and went to try to smack Susan on her head, but Lily intervened.

"Ronald, you never try to smack a lady! I don't care what they try to do to you!" Lily scolded, before depositing the child in Arthur's lap. After telling the gentle man what had transpired, Arthur turned a stern eye upon his youngest son. Shaking his head, he knew too much time had passed to properly punish the child. If he were to get spanked now, he wouldn't understand what it was for.

James, Black, and Remus were all over at the present table, whispering over a rectangular package laying there.

"I hope my hairy sprog likes it," Sirius told the other two, causing them to chuckle.

"If he's anything like his old man, Sirius, have no fear," James soothed. "He will love it. And he will love what Remus got him. Lily will wholeheartedly approve of Remus's choice, as well."

Remus turned beat red. "Who said that learning can't be fun and educational at the same time?"

James shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder how you and Lils didn't get together before me and she did. You two would have been perfect for each other, what with your love of books and all."

"Birds of a feather, James. We wouldn't have had a good relationship. You're temper matches hers perfectly. Plus, my wolf recognizes her as your mate. I could never try to take her. We are much better as friends."

James's reply was cut off when he heard his wife's voice amplified.

"Okay everyone; let's gather around the table to light the cake!"

Across the yard, Alice went to grab Neville from his little play group. Frank walked with his wife, whispering to her. Augusta was sitting at the table her family just vacated. She knew they were trying to get the Potters' on their own to talk to them. She resolved to get to Lily before Alice could.

"How are we going to get together with James and Lily to talk to them?" Alice whispered to her husband while they were walking.

"I don't know, dear," Frank replied just as quietly. "But I believe that if we wait until the end of the party, we should have a chance to talk to them after all the hullabaloo is over with."

"Okay, Frank. Let's go give the birthday boy his present."

"Here you go, pup!" Sirius crowed, handing over his package to James, who was helping Harry unwrap all his presents. It was Harry's last present, and Lily was looking forward to the party being over. Harry's nap time was already passed and she still had to do all the clean up. Lily's heart sank as she saw that it was the same rectangular package that the boys were whispering about on the table earlier. Two seconds before Harry pulled off the paper, she knew exactly what the present was.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Lily's voice echoed over the entire yard, causing everyone to turn to her. "What were you thinking, buying my one-year-old son a _broomstick_ for his birthday!? I can answer that for you! You WEREN'T thinking, obviously! Take that sorry excuse for a present back and don't give it back to him until he's 30!"

Molly stood nodding her head approvingly, while James, Remus, and the others were staring in shock.

"But, Lils!" James jumped to his best mate's defense. "Look at Harry! He loves it!"

Turning her head, Lily saw the cute scene of Harry, who was surrounded by all his other presents, turn his brilliant smile on to the broomstick box, before he tried gnawing on one corner of the box. Lily approached her son, who looked up at his mother and yelled, "Mine! 'Arry's boom! Mama, 'Arry's boom!"

Lily sent a death glare at her husband and Black. She knew that there was no way for her to take the broom away now that Harry had seen it. Maybe while he was sleeping, she could hide it…

Turning her ire back onto Black, she hissed quietly, "If you _ever_ get my son a gift of that magnitude without consulting _me_ again, I will make every prank played on you at Hogwarts feel like a cloud of feathers exploding on you.

Sirius paled and just mumbled, "I asked James. He's his dad. I thought it was okay."

Rounding on her husband, Lily spat. "You _knew_ about this?!"

"Of course I did. It's high time Harry have his own broom. You should see him when I take him flying with me. He loves it, Lily! This is a child's broom. It doesn't hover more than two feet off the ground. We carry him higher than that! What could happen?" James regretted the last sentence. He wanted to take it back as soon as he said it.

"What could happen? What could happen?" Lily was broken out of her rant by Remus placing a hand on her shoulder and whispering into her ear.

"Lily, everyone is watching. You might want to continue this conversation after everyone else leaves."

Taking a deep breath, Lily shot one last parting remark at her husband. "I'm taking everyone in to help send them home. Start cleaning up and find some rocks to transfigure into a bed. Because the living room is your room for the foreseeable future."

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><p>The Weasleys' were the first to leave. She hooked the Burrow back up to the fireplace for another five minutes. The smallest children went through after Arthur. Molly watched the rest of her brood leave before turning to Lily.<p>

"I wholeheartedly agree with you. A child that age shouldn't have a present so dangerous. I was going to say something to you in private, but I see that you have good sense after all." Before Lily could reply, Molly went through the floo and the fire died back to a red-orange color.

"Goodness gracious, that woman wants to make me give the broom to Harry out of spite." Lily sighed to herself, then turning back to the Bones' and the Longbottoms' she called Fawkes to her. In a flash of fire, he appeared at Harry's side. Harry was sitting on the floor with Neville and Susan, holding onto the box that had the child's broom. Fawkes nuzzled Harry, trilling softly.

"Fawkes, do you mind bringing the Bones' home for me, please?" Lily asked the bird, who bobbed his head. Susan's mother bent over to pick her up. She waved bye to her new friends.

"We have to get together again soon. My little Susan has never been happier."

"We sure will. Just remember how you got here for the party. Grab hold to his tail feathers. But don't pull on them. He doesn't like that. I'll put your owl on the update list, so we can keep in touch. Bye, Susan. Say bye, Harry"

"Bye, 'Uan! Bye!" Harry called out to Susan before turning his attention back to Neville.

"Bye 'Arry! Bye bye!" Susan called back.

The Bones' disappeared with Fawkes in a shower of flames. Turning to Frank and Alice, Lily opened her mouth to tell them the same thing, before Augusta caught her attention. Waving to her from the kitchen, Lily excused herself to see what Augusta wanted. James started talking to Frank about what was going on within the Auror ranks while he wasn't there. Alice looked questionably at Lily's retreating form, before tuning into the discussion the men were having,

"Is there something I can help you with, Mrs. Longbottom?" Lily asked, cutting to the chase as soon as she was inside the kitchen.

"First of all, Mrs. Longbottom is now my daughter-in-law. Please call me Augusta. And I feel that I need to warn you. My son and Alice have been talking to Dumbledore recently. They said that Dumbledore is anxiously looking for you, having to tell you something of grave importance." Augusta waited to see what Lily's reaction was. She was purposely setting up the young woman, seeing what side she rested on.

"Oh, is he now?" Lily mused, looking Augusta in the eye. She felt as if she could trust the woman, so decided to tell as much of the truth as she could. "Well that old fool can keep looking. You need to warn Alice and Frank about him. He has known...information about Voldemort for the past year that he has been withholding from us. We figured it out with a little help, which is why we went into hiding. If we had listened to Dumbledore, that rat of a man, Pettigrew, would have sold us out to Voldemort as soon as we performed the charm."

"Ha, so you do have some brains, girl! Sometimes I think muggleborns are the smartest of wizarding kind because they grow up away from all these notions of who's good and who's not. Every pureblood is raised to either worship Dumbledore or hate his guts. But muggleborns can learn to respect the man while seeing his flaws as well." Augusta was positively delighted with Lily's answer, though she didn't allow it to show anymore than the smile that crossed her face and the light in her eyes.

"What would you suggest, Madam Augusta? I want to protect Alice and Frank, along with little Neville, but I don't know how to make them see the truth about Dumbledore," Lily pleaded. She didn't want anything to happen to this strong family.

"I cannot say for certain. My Frank and his Alice are very loyal, thinking that Dumbledore does no wrong." Lily coughed suddenly. Something sounding like 'James' reached Augusta's ears, but she ignored it. "The only thing I could say for certain is-"

"There you are, Mum and Lily. Mother, we are almost ready to leave, but Alice and I just want a word alone with James and Lily for a second. Do you mind keeping an eye on Neville for us?" Frank had opened the kitchen door, halting Augusta mid sentence. Shooting a look that said 'I warned you' at Lily, Augusta rose from her seat.

"Certainly, Frank, though we must discuss your atrocious manners when we get home. Barging in on a personal conversation without so much as an 'excuse me'. I raised you better than that, young man, though it seems you need a refresher course!" Augusta turned her stern eye off of her blushing son, to look at Lily once more, who was fighting to hide the smile crossing her face. "Lily, dear, as I was saying before we were so _rudely interrupted_, the only thing I can say for certain is that the truth will always find a way out. You mine as well start there and save the trip."

With that, Augusta strolled out of the living room, and Frank walked in, still blushing, with Alice and James following.

"Okay," Lily sighed, "before you and Alice start talking, Frank, James and I think it prudent to tell you what we know." James shot and incredulous look at Lily, not knowing anything about the plan she had, but didn't say anything with the look she glared at him.

"We had someone helping us, who we cannot name, but we have to tell you what happened…"

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><p>She had insisted on a magical vow that Frank and Alice not tell any of what they were about to hear to anyone. Especially not Dumbledore. It took a while to convince the Longbottoms, but James convinced them to agree, asking if a small vow was worth more than Neville's life. Lily told a shortened, edited version of what had transpired for them to lose their trust in the Headmaster. She left out Severus's name, knowing that they would lose all credit for trusting a 'Death Eater' over the headmaster. The turning point was when Lily recited the first half of the prophesy. She could tell that Frank and Alice were starting to think through their story. In the end, though, they just couldn't convince the Longbottoms to be more wary.<p>

"I vow upon my magic that what I just told you was the truth as I have found it to be." A bright light flooded the kitchen before Lily summoned a cup of coffee to her.

"We will think upon everything you told us," Alice said amicably, while Lily just nodded her head.

"That is all we can ask of you. I just don't want to see you or your family hurt or worse because of information that wasn't given to you."

"Before I forget, Dumbledore wanted me to give you this letter," Frank said to the couple. He held out a letter to James, who went to take it. With a musical screech, Fawkes appeared and shot a blue flame at the letter. The letter hovered in midair, with a reddish glow seeping out of the seams.

"Huh," James was the first to speak. "An unauthorized portkey. Thank you, Fawkes, though it wouldn't have worked. The wards around the house would have negated it. But thank you all the same, my friend." James bowed to the phoenix, who just trilled a sad note before flashing back to Harry's side.

Turning his attention back to the gob smacked Longbottoms, James said in an even tone, "The only reason I am not hexing you is the fact that I know that you didn't know about the portkey. If you had, the wards would have never let you through, phoenix or no phoenix. And, yes, to answer your question, that is the Headmaster's phoenix. He has left Dumbledore to bond to Harry."

"James, Lily, we are so sorry! We didn't know anything about that! Why would the Headmaster do that?" Alice's voice was getting a little shrill, so Lily laid a hand on her arm.

"Alice, we told you why. I hope you believe us now. Or at least will think a little harder about it."

"Yes, we will think harder. That he would use us like that and not even tell us! Thank you, James and Lily. We hope to see you soon." Frank took his wife's arm, before the pair walked into the living room. They picked up a smiling Neville before grabbing a hold of Fawkes's tail feathers and disappeared in flames.

"I hope they see things our way," Lily said to James, who just nodded.

"I believe that they will now that they have that portkey as evidence. I knew that he was going to try something. I'm just glad that they were a witness."

James watched while watching Lily start to pick the paper up by hand.

"Why aren't you using your magic, Lils?"…

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><p>In the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Albus looked on in rage as his portkey activated, but was demolished. "How did they know? That blasted phoenix!"<p>

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><p>Miles away, in a Unplottable location, a man was bent over several simmering cauldrons. Steam and potion fumes joined to make an oily mess of the man's shoulder length black hair. Severus Snape was finishing up the latest round of potions that were due for an owl-away business. He now called his mother's old ancestral home his own. The fact that he knew the Prince family line would be rolling in their graves with a half-blood like him using their facilities, bothered him not. He was safe, hidden away from a war that he didn't want any participation in. He truly did not care who won, as long as he was left in peace.<p>

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><p>AN: There you go, people. Snape is safe, hidden away. He wants his peace, and he deserves it. But peace, as we all know, has a way of just shattering. I hope you all like it!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Here is the next chapter for your enjoyment. I hope you like!

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><p>James groaned as he lifted himself off the transfigured bed in the middle of the living room. It had been over two weeks, and Lily still would not let him in their bedroom. And using a rock to transfigure into a bed didn't negate the properties of the rock, namely the hard surface. It was better than sleeping on the floor, though, even with all the lumps in the mattress.<p>

Sighing, James looked around the living room, taking note of all the missing furniture. He had thought that he would be able to sleep on the couch or one of the chairs instead, but it seems his brilliant wife beat him too it. James thinks back to the night he had left to go see Dumbledore about the Cloak and he came back to find all the furniture missing.

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><p>Fearing the worst, he ran up to Harry's room. Bursting through the door, he relaxed slightly when he saw his son sleeping peacefully in his crib, with Fawkes roosting on the railing. Closing the door, James walked to the master bedroom. He went to turn the knob on the door, and then released it with a yelp when it shocked him.<p>

"Lily!" James exclaimed, banging his fist on the door, only to find out that that shocked him as well.

"What is it James?" she asked as she opened the door. James tried to push past her, only to find himself ejected forcibly out of the room, and landing in a heap in the hallway.

"What have you done, woman?"

"I told you to get acquainted with the living room, because you weren't allowed in here," Lily said simply, looking at her husband with no sign of pity.

"But what happened to all the furniture?" James whined, sounding vaguely like little Ron had earlier.

"You think I was going to give you an easy way out? It's all shrunken and locked in the bedroom. I will restore it tomorrow morning, after I get up." Lily shrugged nonchalantly.

"All this is because of a toy broom, Lily?" James growled, at the end of his patience. He just couldn't understand it. It's not like he was going to let his son get hurt! James would protect his son with his own life. Didn't this frustrating woman know that?

Lily's eyes narrowed at James' tone of voice as she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door to the bedroom behind her. Honestly, this man was dafter than she had previously thought. "No, James, this is not all over a _toy broom_. This is about you and your habit of not talking things over with me. I am your _wife_, James! You are supposed to talk things like that over with me, especially when you know that I wouldn't have agreed to it!"

"Of course you wouldn't have agreed to it, Lily! You hate flying, and because you're afraid of it, you don't want our son to have any fun! That broom is the safest on the line! Nothing will go wrong. You just want to have total control over our son's life. Not to mention that you wouldn't have agreed to the gift just because it was _Sirius_ giving it to him. You haven't given that man a fair chance since that whole thing with Snape happened. Padfoot was one of your best friends before that _man_ came along a ruined it all! But I bet if Snape sent him the broom, you would have been fine with it! Or if Remus told you that it would teach him about the weather and wind currents, you wouldn't have a problem with it. It's because it was from Sirius!" James's chest was heaving, he was breathing so hard. He was pacing back and forth in the hallway, waving his hands around his head while he yelled at his wife.

"Oh, come off it. Black has nothing to do with this, other than astound me with his ever growing stupidity in thinking that I would let my child ride a broom before he could walk steady. This is about you not talking to me. You never talk to me about what is happening, and I'm sick of it. Do you know the infant mortality rates for brooms like that? 15 percent of infants and children who ride toy brooms have an accident and _die_ from it! Are you willing to take that chance with our son?" Lily's eyes were flashing and her face was becoming bright red. Her eyes were filled with tears that she wouldn't let fall.

James paled at the statistic, but shot right back. "Those parents must not be watching their kids, then. Those brooms are perfectly safe!"

"Oh really? What would happen if it just stop working while Harry was riding it? Even if it doesn't hover more than a couple feet, that is high enough for Harry to fall and crack his head open. Or what if it sparks and catches fire? All the cushioning charms in the world wouldn't save our son if his broom started bucking around wildly, like toy brooms are prone to do. Brooms run off of magic, James. A wizards' magic is what stabilizes the brooms flight! And no magic is more unstable than a child's! That is what causes these brooms to malfunction. You would know all of this if you would have bothered to talk to me about the damn gift! But your pride is more important than our son's life! And that is why you are sleeping in the living room!"

With that, Lily spun on her heel and stormed back into the master bedroom, slamming the door in James' face. Dejected, James headed back down the stairs, and out to the garden to find the biggest rock with the flattest surface to transfigure into his new bed.

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><p>James hated to admit that his wife had a point. He didn't know any of those facts, though he should have realized that a broom wouldn't have been safe. He forgot that brooms ran off of the person's magic and the less stabilized the magic, the more uncontrollable the broom. James was just excited to see his son following in his footsteps and overlooked the safety aspect.<p>

James went into the kitchen to start prepare breakfast for his family. He was a fair cook, though breakfast was his limit. He couldn't make anything fancier than eggs and toast, or cereal. It was the one area that James knew that magic was of no worth. His own mother would constantly tell him that conjuring food didn't work, since it faded before your body could digest the nutrients. His mother always made food by hand, and so had taught James too as well.

"Morning, James," Lily yawned, while placing Harry in his high chair. Harry was giggling and wiggling around while his mother sat down at the table with a steaming cup of tea.

"Dada! Hi, dada!"

"Good morning, Harry."

"So what is on the planner for today?" Lily asked her husband, who was now placing the pan filled with eggs onto the table. Lily placed a helping onto a plate, blowing gently on the eggs before feeding the first spoonful to Harry. He fussed and turned his head, not wanting to eat from his mother.

"What's wrong, Harry? Aren't you hungry?" Lily asked, while looking a bit worried.

"No, mama! I do! 'Arry do!" Harry whined, opening and closing his fist.

"Darling, the food is hot. Let mummy help you."

"No!"

"Harry," James sighed, "listen to your mother.

"No!"

"Harry," Lily's voice turned very stern, "you are going to let me help you, young man. As soon as it is cool enough, you can feed yourself. Otherwise you are not going to get to play outside today!"

Harry's lower lip jutted out and his eyes filled with tears. Lily wasn't fooled by this face, however, having plenty of immunity to it as it was James' signature face when he wanted something.

"Now eat, Harry!" Lily was not giving an inch.

Harry opened his mouth just enough for his mother to place the eggs inside. Once he had eaten a couple bites, the eggs were cool enough for Harry to eat by himself, which he did with glee. The fact that more eggs ended up in his hair than in his mouth was ignored by his parents.

"Today, I have another meeting with Dumbledore. He finally told me the rest of the prophesy, but only because I told him that I could just as easily go to the Department of Mysteries or ask the Longbottoms. But he's refusing to tell me what his plan is. He won't answer me when I ask how we can depend on a baby to defeat Voldemort, if grown witches and wizards can't kill him! How are you making with the Longbottoms?"

"The boys have another play date this afternoon. I think that I'm getting Alice to bend a little, with Madam Augusta's help." Lily's response did little to give James any hope. "As long as Dumbledore has the Longbottoms to fall back on, he won't see that he needs to be honest with us, because he will still have one boy that the prophesy applies to within his grasp. If we could get them to see reason and question Dumbledore with us, I believe that we could force his hand. He couldn't stand to lose both the boys."

James lifted his head to look at his wife. That was one way that he had not thought about it. Lily could just see the light bulb hovering above her husband's head flicker slowly to life. Smirking to herself, she didn't say anything, knowing that he would not understand the muggle reference. She waited for him to actually articulate what he was thinking.

"I have an idea."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Now why don't you share what that idea is?"

"What if we use the Cloak to bring the Longbottoms with us to the next meeting with Dumbledore? I nearly got him to lose his temper last time, I'm sure I could do it again! If they could just see him when he's not playing his 'grandfatherly' role, I'm sure that they would finally see what we are saying is true!" James's eyes were shining in excitement, proud that he finally thought of a way to get one over on Dumbledore.

Lily paused, absentmindedly cleaning off Harry's face before lifting him up into her arms. "That could work, James," she paused before bursting his bubble, "if Dumbledore didn't have every ward known to man placed in and around his office."

James's shoulders slumped in disappointment and defeat. "Oh, right. Forgot about that, I did. Damn!"

"James, language! Harry's right here!"

"Right, sorry son. Don't repeat after daddy, okay?"

Harry giggled, before looking up at his father and opening his mouth.

"Damn!"

Lily was too shocked to reprimand Harry the first time. However when the curse came out of her son's mouth a second time, Lily sprang into action, leveling her glare at her husband, promising an even longer stay out on the transfigured rock bed.

"Harry, no! Bad word! Do not say that!"

Harry looked up at his mother, confusion evident on his face.

"Damn."

"No, Harry! Bad! Do not say that word again. If you do, mummy will smack your hand."

"Damn?" Suddenly Harry started whimpering when his mother's hand came down on his own with a sharp smack.

"No, Harry. Do not say it again." Lily looked sternly at her son, prepared for a repeat smack, if needed. But it seemed that Harry did receive some of his mother's intelligence, because he did not repeat that word again. Satisfied, Lily rounded on her husband. "Now you see why I don't approve of that language? It's one thing if it's me, but all it takes is one slip like that, and our son will have a gutter mouth! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry," James replied sheepishly. Lily just glared at him, before huffing and placing Harry in his play pen.

"Now, while I don't think the Cloak would work in Dumbledore's office, I do think it would work if we were able to lure him to our house. Here me out," Lily requested when her husband looked at her in surprise. "If we get the Longbottoms over here first, and have them hide under the Cloak, we could then lure Dumbledore here, telling him Harry was ill, but we both wanted to talk to him. We could even have Fawkes make an appearance and let the Longbottoms here the excuse of why his familiar would leave him willingly."

James thought it over before in conceding that his wife really was the most brilliant witch. Stunning how he could continue to be surprised by her intelligence. "It's a wonder you weren't a Slytherin, with how cunning you can be."

Lily shrugged, embarrassed. "The Sorting Hat actually wanted to put me there. The only reason I told it not to is because I was positive that Severus was going to end up in Gryffindor with me, and that I thought you were too arrogant to go anywhere but Slytherin."

James just sputtered in indignation, while Lily went to send a letter to the Longbottoms. He turned to Harry. "Never get married. It's nothing but trouble! In fact, save your sanity, Harry, and don't think about girls at all. You will never win, or understand them. Me, in Slytherin! Your mother is a bit more barmy than I previously thought!"

Jame yelped when a stinging hex hit his bottom. From the study, he heard his wife laughing. "You're right. You won't ever win against me so just give in now. Oh, and don't insult my intelligence again. Next time it won't be a stinging hex to your bum, but another location in the front of your body!"

James paled rapidly, before turning back to his son, who found the entire incident amusing and was giggling like mad.

"And that is why you don't want to go near any girls. Especially brainy birds like your mom!"

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><p>One Severus Snape was again bent over a cauldron, working on a letter a fellow potioneer had sent to him. The man himself, Damocles, was brilliant at potions, but was stuck on a concoction that he was in the process of brewing. After several exploded cauldrons later, he had finally conceded to seek help from other potioneers.<p>

Severus himself was little known in the world of potions, but for the fact that he was the youngest Potions Master in several decades. But he took on the challenge, reasoning that he had made enough from the owl order potions to experiment a little.

The main ingredient in the plant was a volatile one known most commonly as aconite. The problem was the man was trying to add lacewings into the mixture along with an infusion of wormwood. This should, in theory, cause the drinker to become very sleepy, and the infusion of wormwood was one of the main ingredients in the Draught of the Living Death. However, when you add the aconite into the mixture, it caused the entire mixture to become too unstable.

Severus paused, knowing that Damocles would have already tried substituting the asphodel for the wormwood. What he couldn't figure out was why the man wanted to add the aconite into the potion at all. If he wanted a sleeping draught, he could used a watered down variety of the Living Death. Sighing, Severus turned back to the simmering cauldron.

What if he didn't add the lacewings into the potion, and tried using the entire aconite plant and not just the root? Slowly, Severus added the entire aconite, flowers and all, into the cauldron, before adding the infusion of wormwood. Seeing the mixture turn a violent shade of red and bubble uncontrollably, he quickly started stirring, alternating clockwise and counter-clockwise every five stirs, to see which worked better. Seeing that the counter stir was doing more to calm the mixture down, he continued, counting out loud to himself to keep track. When the mixture settled and turned a murky blue, he pulled the stirrer out and wrote down his findings.

He sent the finding and some questions off to Damocles, asking the man to include more information. Hoping to receive a reply before the end of the week, Severus took in the state of his lab. He started putting the ingredients back on the proper shelves, and then moved onto the rest of the lab. Cleaning the tables with a wave of his wand, Severus muttered to himself.

"What could he be making with aconite and wormwood? Why would he need someone to sleep while trying to control their emotions? Is it a draught for children? Maybe their accidental magic; but why the sleep aid? I hope he responds soon."

Looking out the window, Severus saw a flash of red as a bird took flight. His mind wandered briefly to the woman who still had his heart. Pushing his thoughts away before the pain set in, Severus continued on to the kitchen to make himself some lunch.

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><p>AN: How was it? I tried to include a bit more about Severus. A kiss from our Potions' Master if anyone can guess what potion he was working on. I left some pretty big hints. Until next time!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Sorry everyone for the long wait. I hope this chapter has been worth waiting for!

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><p>Severus Snape was normally not a very happy man. And today was no exception. He had to travel to Diagon Alley to purchase some much needed potion ingredients that he had recently run out of. Normally, he would just send for them from his owl order catalog, but that was not an option today. The potion that he was working on called for the freshest ingredients, going so far to say in the book that if the ingredients were not added to the potion within one hour of picking, it was of no use to add them at all. And of course, these ingredients were not all that common, so he did not have them in his small garden outside of the Prince home.<p>

Even though he was the one who lived there now, Severus still could not find a reason to call that place his home. He felt as unwelcome there as he did anywhere else in his life. The only difference with the Prince home is the fact that there was no one, alive or dead, who could constantly berate him and tell him that he is unwelcome. That, however, did not stop him from feeling uneasy. It was the manor itself that made Severus so uncomfortable. He would just finally think that he found a place for something when, the next day, it would be gone or moved somewhere. The manor was alive with magic; Severus was certain of that. What else would be the explanation for the drawer of silver to move from one side of the kitchen to the other overnight?

Severus could only think that the house knew that his mother was disowned, and it is carrying out the last will of the dying family. He never knew is grandparents, and found a letter to his mother when he was younger from them, stating that they never wanted to know a bastard child like himself. While he couldn't help but agree that his mother made a terrible mistake to marry Tobias, he was under the impression that grandchildren were supposed to mend the rift made between parents and children. Obviously he was just deluding himself.

But he was undertaking the mission to turn that house into his own. A Prince by blood, and the last living member, the house could not refuse him entry, even though it tried its very hardest. If Severus had to rework the wards one-by-one for that house to accept him, then he would.

Shaking his head, Severus brought his mind back to the task at hand, which was to gather the needed ingredients and then apparate home as quickly as he could to complete the next step in his potion. Walking to the apothecary, Severus couldn't help but notice how quiet Diagon Alley was. Normally the noise level of this place was beyond Severus's toleration, which is why he didn't venture here often. But now, people were looking down and hurrying along, as if they didn't want to be here any longer than necessary. Very few people were standing around chatting, and those that were, were talking in hushed, rapid tones.

Severus couldn't help but feel that the Dark Lord's power was growing. Though he didn't subscribe to the rag that was known as the Daily Prophet, you would have to be deaf to be able to ignore the mutterings and whispers going around. Though his mark was as black as it always was, Severus fought the urge to go when the Dark Lord summoned him. Another reason why he was so wary to be outside the protections of the manor's wards. He did not want to be caught unaware by a lingering Death Eater who might recognize him.

He walked through the door of the apothecary and went straight to the back, where the owner of the shop had an ingredient garden in a sun room. The room was charmed to change the weather to the needs of the plants, and required very little work, except for harvesting of the ingredients. Finding the plants he needed, he swiftly harvested them, and proceeded back to the front. A worker checked him out, and Severus quickly left the store and started walking back to the entrance of Diagon Alley. Once there, he was free to apparate back to the Prince home.

On his way, though, Severus paused mid stride. He had just seen a flash of fiery red hair walking into Flourish and Blotts. Doing the calculations in his head, Severus altered his course and decided to pass by the window of the store, wanted to see if it was who he thought it was.

"Why am I doing this?" Severus muttered softly. "I am just torturing myself. Why would she want to see me? She hasn't tried to contact me. Why do I even care? Because I obviously like feeling the stinging pain that accompanies any thoughts of her."

By the time he had finished ranting to himself, he was in front of the window of Flourish and Blotts. He looked inside quickly, trying not to draw attention to himself. He didn't know whether to sigh in relief or disappointment when he saw that it wasn't Lily in the store, but another woman who had the same red hair, though she wore it shorter. And it was more auburn than red, Severus thought.

Angry with himself for even caring to see Lily, and not knowing his own feelings on not being able to see her, Severus stalked off towards the entrance to Diagon Alley, and apparated back to Prince manor.

* * *

><p>Lily, meanwhile, was busy watching Neville and Harry playing with blocks out in the front yard. It was a brilliant autumn day, though a bit crisp. The boys were wearing their jumpers and boots, and Lily was wearing a vest with long sleeves underneath. She was sitting in a lawn chair,and keeping an eye on the children. Smiling to herself, Lily listened to them laughing and playing together. The two boys were fast friends, and being with another child was helping Harry improve his language. Though he just turned 14 months old, Harry's language skills were growing.<p>

Lily still couldn't understand most of what the two boys babbled about, but Harry was trying to pronounce more sounds. And it seemed that Neville was helping Harry towards that. The two boys pushed each other. If Neville learned a new sound, then Harry would not rest until he learned it as well. Harry was also refining the words that he did know. With the new sounds, he was making progress on pronouncing more consonants and vowels.

"Lily?"

Lily looked up to see Alice staring at her. Blushing, Lily realized that she was caught not paying attention to what Alice had been saying. She and Alice were becoming fast friends, just like their boys. Even though they had both been in Gryffindor, Lily, as a muggleborn, generally stayed away from most of her dorm mates the first year. She was very homesick and having to constantly watch her back when the Marauders would play pranks. By the time Lily was settled, most friendships had already been formed. And anyone who knew anything about girl friendships knew that it was impossible to try and break ranks into an already formed group. So, Lily was on friendly terms with the girls in her year, but not solid friends that she would hang out with.

And, both women knew what it was like to not have contact with any other females most of the time, though Alice did have Augusta to talk to when she needed. But Augusta, as Alice put it, was like talking to an old fashioned dictionary. Lily could see how that may be true, but found conversation with Augusta stimulating, and she would learn even more about the magical world by listening to the stories the older witch would tell.

"Sorry, Alice. You caught me. I was just thinking about the boys and how much happier Harry has been having a friend to play with."

Smiling, Alice looked over at the boys. "The same could be said for Neville, too. I have never seen him happier than when he gets to play with Harry. I hope our boys stay friends throughout their years at Hogwarts. It would be so good for both of them to have a familiar face in a new setting."

"Here, here," Lily giggled, raising an imaginary glass in the air. Alice was laughing, and copied Lily's movements.

"So, Alice, have you thought any more about your plans for Halloween? It's at the end of the month! I hate to think of Harry having to stay home, but he's young enough that he doesn't know what the big deal is all about."

"I haven't really thought about it that much, to be honest with you. Is it true that muggles dress up and go to stranger's houses asking for sweets?" Alice was whispering at the end of her question, as if it was a naughty secret, which caused Lily to giggle some more.

"Yes, it is. It's called trick-or-treating, and the muggle children live for it as much as they do Christmas. They dress up as different imaginary creatures or different professions. Some children will go as a doctor, which is a muggle healer, or a policeman, which is a muggle auror. Then children will dress up as ghosts and goblins, witches and wizards, demons and angels. The list is endless. I used to dress up as well, though now I know that many of the imaginary creatures actually exist!"

Alice was captivated. While the Wizarding World did celebrate Halloween, it was seen as more of a holiday in the way of a big Sunday dinner. Halloween was respected as the night that the line between the magic world and the spirit world was the thinnest. Many wizards claimed to have more power on All Hallow's Eve than any other night, which could be believed because of all the residual magic in the air. But knowing that, in the muggle world, children dressed up and went around to strangers asking for candy? Alice couldn't understand it. What about all the danger it posed?

Lily seemed to read her mind when she answered Alice's question. "Even though it's a holiday for children, most parents are cautious about the sweets that their children collect. My mum and dad would always check my sweets to make sure they were not opened and reclosed. Anything suspicious was thrown out right away. But most people are kind and the sweets are wonderful! Think of not having to go to Honeydukes to get any sweets you wanted. You could stockpile your Halloween sweets for couple months or more, if you're careful!"

Lily started laughing at Alice's gob smacked expression. "Oh, Alice! If you could see your face!" Lily conjured a mirror, and handed it to Alice, still laughing. Alice caught sight of herself and couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped.

"What about a nice dinner here?" Lily asked, after they had stopped laughing. Both boys had looked over at their mums while they were laughing. Harry and Neville had tottered over to see what the big deal was. Lily bent over and picked up Harry, placing him on her lap, while Alice did the same for Neville.

"A dinner does sound nice. It would give us all a reason to get together. The boys can talk work and we can talk about the boys!" Alice giggled again. Her and Lily made plans to meet around five at the Potter's home. Lily had told Alice to extend the invitation to Augusta as well, which Alice promised to do.

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><p>After Alice and Neville had flooed back to their own house, Lily was thinking about the discussion she had had with James a while ago. She and James still had no luck in convincing the Longbottoms to be wary of the Headmaster. Though they didn't understand how he could use them to send an unauthorized portkey to James and herself, Frank and Alice were still convinced the Headmaster had good intentions. Lily only hoped that the Longbottoms were listening to Augusta and taking extra precautions in their wards. Augusta was known for not letting anyone she didn't want in her house, and that included the Headmaster.<p>

Hearing the fire surge, Lily walked into the living room with Harry sleeping in her arms. His play dates with Neville always tuckered him out. "Hi, James. How did everything go?"

"I just picked up more paperwork. You know that your strain of dragon pox is very catching and the healers still haven't figured it out, though Harry seems immune to it. But I have to be here to care for you both," James sighed, while Lily laughed a bit at his running excuse for not being into work. While only a select few, like the Head Auror knew why James wasn't at work, he had to make an excuse to the rest of his teammates for why he wasn't there.

"Have you heard from Moony lately?" James asked Lily while he was taking off his work robes. He hadn't heard from either of his mates for a couple weeks, but knew it was fruitless to ask about Sirius as well.

"I haven't. Last I knew he and Black were on a mission for the Order. He did say before he left that he may not be in touch for a while," Lily reminded him. While the Marauders and Lily didn't trust Dumbledore, Remus and Sirius still did work for the Order. Finding a weakness of Voldemort's was too important to let their fight with Dumbledore get in the way. Remus was the only one who could get near and survive a meeting with werewolves. And while Sirius wasn't much help in his human form, his canine animagus was able to provide a fight and watch Moonys' back.

"How did the play date go today?" James asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh, fine. The boys were great, playing outside and all. I invited the Longbottoms over for dinner on Halloween. I figured this way the boys can play together and we can have adult company for once. I am going stir crazy in this house!"

"I know, Lily. I wish I could do something more. But there haven't been any attacks recently, and that has the aurors pretty nervous. Mad-eye believes that Voldemort is planning something big. A week hasn't gone by without news of some attack here or there. It's been almost a fortnight since any attacks have been reported. Everyone is on guard and just waiting for something to happen."

"I only hope that nothing will happen," Lily whispered, feeling a knot form in her stomach. "But I have a feeling that you're right and something bad is going to happen soon. I hope Remus's mission is over soon."

James didn't want to admit he had the same feelings and scare his wife. He would feel much better if Remus and Sirius were both in the house with them. Remus was their Secret-Keeper. When they had performed the charm to hide the house, they had chosen Remus to be their Secret-Keeper for fear that Sirius would be to obvious. Lily made the comment that if Dumbledore was trying to splinter Remus from the group, it would make sense to make him the Secret-Keeper. Dumbledore and everyone else would expect Sirius to be their first choice, and would only go after him. No one would think of the Potters trusting a werewolf to keep them safe. Sirius was all for the plan, and Remus was honored and promised on his magic to keep the secret, no matter what. Remus also pointed out that being a werewolf actually helped in this case, because all werewolves had a natural flair for occlumency. The werewolf body recognized the need to keep the secret and as such the mind developed shields with very little work from the person. However, Remus had actively worked on building his defensives daily, and the product of such hard work was an impressive set of shields that Dumbledore himself would find difficult to penetrate.

"I'll take to the Bones' and see if they have any information when Remus and Sirius will be expected back. Would you mind if Sirius stayed here with Remus once they came back? I want to keep them as close as possible, at least until we find out what Voldemort is planning.

It was testament to how nervous Lily was, in the fact that she didn't protest at all to Black staying in her house. She just wanted her family safe.

* * *

><p>In a dark, damp basement of unknown origin, a grim was busy whining and licking an unconscious man with a furry little problem. The grim knew hard times were ahead if the silver chains burning the flesh on the man's' wrists were anything to go by.<p>

The sound of footsteps echoed off the stone walls. Pausing in his quest to wake the man lying next to him, the grim stepped over the man protectively and started growling. It was a deep growl that started in his abdomen and worked its way through his throat. The white canines bared left no mistake that whoever was approaching was not welcome at all.

"Look at that. The puppy is guarding the wolf. You might want to enjoy your last days as a human, Black. I will relish being able to lord your death over Potter's head. If only you hadn't been a blood traitor. You and the wolf could have had everything if you had joined the right cause. None of this would have had to be necessary. I can still give you a choice though. I shall ask you again when the werewolf awakens."

With Sirius backing up and growling even louder, the man laughed and with a flash of red, left as quickly as he came.

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><p>AN: Dun dun dun! What do you think of the twist? Again, I'm sorry for the long wait. Things have been hectic for me, and this chapter was difficult to get out. I knew what I wanted to say, but wasn't happy with the way it was coming out. Oh, well. I'll let you, my wonderful readers, be the judge of how well the chapter turned out.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait between chapters. My certification process for school is taking all my time and energy, but I have been working hard to get this out. I know it's not long, but it's my longest chapter yet! I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Sirius and Remus were tired. They were tired of the Death Eaters coming in and out of their cell. They were tired of the torture they were subjected to day in and day out. They were tired of being woken up in the middle of the night. They were tired of guessing when they were next going to get food. And, most of all, they were tired of hoping that they would be rescued.<p>

True to his word, Voldemort had come to them again the same day Remus regained consciousness. Voldemort had the silver cuffs holding Remus prisoner removed, though he made it clear that the bars of the cell were made of silver, so the werewolf wouldn't be able to use his strength to break free. His request for the two Marauders to join him was met with twin globs of spit running down Voldemort's robes. Of course, that started the first 'lesson' in the course of 'Proper Respect to Show Lord Voldemort.' A course which Sirius and Remus both failed repeatedly and bore the marks of.

The two had trouble keeping track of time, except for Remus's transformation. Because they had left for their mission right after the full moon in September, they knew that their captors have kept them for at least 3 weeks. Remus told Sirius that he was starting to feel agitated and wild. Sirius could see the specks of amber in Remus's eyes, and his pupils dilating. Sirius had decided to stay in his animagus form at night until after the full moon came and went. He figured he was safer than waking up to an angry, slobbering werewolf in his face.

Both men turned to face the opposite wall when the sounds of footsteps were heard. Two men in black robes stepped through the door and closed it behind them. Neither had their masks on, but Sirius didn't recognize either man. The two had twin looks of disgusted on their face and pointed their wands at the prisoners.

"Get up, scum. You're to come with us to see the Dark Lord. He has something special planned for you two," the taller of the two said. The other man started chuckling stupidly.

"Tell your master that if he wants to see us, he has to come here. After all he graced us with such accommodating quarters during our stay that we can't bear to leave them," Sirius replied cheekily, internally bracing for the crucio that would surely follow. And follow it did.

"Idiot dog. How dare you insult the Dark Lord? He gave us permission to use force if we deemed necessary, and I deem it so now."

Before either man could move, they were bound in ropes and gagged. They were levitated in front of the two men while they walked. The men decided to have some fun and see who could cause the most damage to the prisoner they were holding without the prisoner losing consciousness. Remus was just surprised that either man knew what the word consciousness meant.

The two captured Marauders arrived in front of Voldemort bloody and beaten, but conscious as he requested. Voldemort just looked over the two prisoners with disgust and a bit of resentment that he was having to lose two fine purebloods for his cause. He was going to give them the final ultimatum; join him, or die.

"Gentlemen, I see that you were treated to our finest. Now that you are rested and awake, I must pose my question to you one more time. Will you join my cause to rid the world of the filth that resides in it? Now, now, didn't your mothers ever tell you it was rude to interrupt your betters when talking?" Voldemort asked, stopping the protests he saw were going to come out of their mouths. Waving his hand, a silencing charm wrapped around both Sirius and Remus. Seeing that he wasn't going to be interrupted again, Voldemort continued.

"Imagine, Remus-may I call you Remus? - a world where you weren't secluded and segregated for being a werewolf. Imagine being able to give in to your blood lust and not having to lock yourself up like a prisoner every month. Running free in your werewolf form, and not having to hide it from everyone; isn't that your very dream? And Sirius- I feel I can use your given name, considering I am on a first name basis with most of your family, after all- imagine being accepted back into your family. Not having to turn your back on your family anymore. Being able to reclaim your heritage and your birth right as the Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. All of the power and prestige that come with that title."

Voldemort paused in his speech, to see if it was having an effect on the two men in front of him. The werewolf, regrettably, wasn't looking swayed in the least. Pity to kill him, after all his werewolf army always needed more men. Those damn wolves seemed to kill each other faster fighting over rank than they did kill the victims he sent after them. To be fair, though Voldemort rarely was, he blamed it all on Greyback. That werewolf was the male version of Bellatrix; just as unstable and crazy as her as well.

Black though, his eyes had a haunted look in them. Maybe his speech was having an effect after all. Trying to skim the man's surface thoughts, though, was very easy. Voldemort was getting a mixed message of disgust of ever thinking to join this cause, a vehement feeling of dying before betraying his friends, and a well disguised feeling of longing Voldemort could only assume was caused by the want to be accepted by one's own family. Writing off the werewolf, Voldemort turned all of his attention on the Black heir. He would easily be able to get the secret of where the Potters' were living from this man. He knew from experience that werewolves' occlumency shields were nearly impenetrable anyways, even for him. Black was the weakest target, so Voldemort went after him.

"Legimins!"

Voldemort ripped through Black's mind like a tiger through leaves. Remus was screaming himself hoarse, though little was heard through the gag. He was struggling to get free to help Sirius, but was bound so tight that even his werewolf strength couldn't free him. _'Oh please! Someone help us! They can't find out where Lily, James, and Harry are! Please, someone, anyone come help us. We need to protect Harry! I need to protect my pup and my pack!'_

Sirius, meanwhile, was just sitting there, tied up, not doing anything. He was lost in the memories that Voldemort was ripping through. Faster than lighting, Sirius Black's mind was reduced to little more than pulp. Sirius never had a chance to resist the attack on his mind.

Finally finding the one memory he was after, Voldemort watched as James handed Sirius a slip of paper with an address scrawled across it. _"You will find the Potter's home in Godric's Hollow"_

Withdrawing from Sirius's mind, Voldemort paid little attention to the man he left a drooling mess. Remus had tears running down his face, while his screaming had been reduced to a whimper. His throat was raw and he tasted a bit of blood that came up while he was coughing into his gag.

"I have it! The Potters downfall will come at my hands. They are no longer safe, now that I know where they live! I will kill them and their brat and then no one will stand in my way! Come!" He turned to his Death Eaters. "We must plan on how to best attack them. We need to see what other protection layers the house."

"S-s-sir?" One unknown Death Eater stammered, not sure how his master would take being interrupted.

"Who dare's speak out of turn?" Voldemort rounded quickly, looking at his servants, to see who spoke. The brave soul stepped forward, bowing as he did, shaking like a leaf.

"I did, my Lord. I was just-"

The man started screaming as he was hit with a _crucio_ from Voldemort.

"I think you need to learn proper respect for your betters. Don't you know that servants are meant to be seen, not heard?"

He lifted the curse, which left the man twitching in pain and gasping for breath.

"I'm sorry, my Lord. I just wanted to know what you wanted done with the prisoners!" The man gasped out as quickly as he could. He tensed, bracing himself for another curse, which didn't come. He chanced a glace up at Voldemort, who was staring at the two prisoners, contemplating.

"After I make my plans, you will kill them."

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><p>Meanwhile, inside the Potter's home, James and Lily were pacing back and forth. James had checked with the Bones' and both had claimed that the mission should have been finished over a week ago. Concerned that they hadn't heard from either Marauder, James had sent a note along to Dumbledore, letting him know that neither man had returned. Dumbledore expressed his concern, but stated that he would have to wait until there was a lull in all the attacks before sending a team out to find Sirius and Remus. That made both Lily and James furious. The attacks had suddenly picked up after Remus and Sirius were due back, but didn't show up. It was almost like a bad omen, if Lily was prone to believing those.<p>

Harry was catching onto their nervous and irritated attitudes. He was proving to be very clingy and would start throwing a tantrum for no reason. James said it was a sign that something bad was happening to Sirius and Remus, but Lily claimed it was all in the teeth he was cutting. Harry was a bit late in his teeth, and had only cut a few until now. Now, he had about five coming in at once, and was proving to be a big hassle. No matter what Lily tried, he would cry and scream. He was running a fever on and off, but all of Lily's books said that was normal for a child.

"Lils, what are we going to do? I can't just sit here and wait for word of what's happening? I need to find Moony and Padfoot! I have a bad feeling that something happened, and I'm stuck here like some bloody pansy who's hiding!" James growled, pacing up and down in the living room, while Lily was playing with Harry on the floor. Harry was having none of it. He was more interested in throwing the blocks than building with them.

"We _are_ hiding, James!" Lily exclaimed, while waving her wand for the blocks to build themselves into a tower. Harry squealed and promptly threw a block at the tower and caused it to crumble. Giggling, Harry clapped his hands, pleased with what he had accomplished. "Or did you forget that we have a son to take care of? Do you want Harry to grow up without a dad?"

"Dada?" Harry, hearing his father's name, looked questioningly at his dad with his bright green eyes.

"Don't worry, Harry," James sighed, scooping his son up from the floor and tossing him into the air. "Daddy will always be here to take care of you."

Suddenly, the floo flared to life, and an urgent voice was heard. "James! Lily! Where are you?"

"Alice? What's wrong?" Lily crawled over to the fireplace from her spot on the floor, the blocks forgotten. James stopped tossing Harry in the air, and grabbed hold of his son tightly, fear knotting in his stomach.

"It's Remus and Sirius! You-Know-Who captured them!" Alice was frantic, while a faint crying could be heard from the background. It sounded as if Neville was catching onto his mother's mood. "Frank just came back from an attack. They were able to capture a Death Eater and questioned them with some truth serum. He mentioned that two prisoners were the deciding factor in an increase of raids and attacks. When asked why, the git just said something about not wanting to have anyone out searching for the prisoners. Albus asked who the prisoners were, and the man just laughed and said a werewolf and a blood traitor. I wasn't sure that was them but when Dumbledore gasped, I knew it was. No one else is missing. Who else could it be?"

"Oh no!" Lily gasped, knowing that if she were standing, her legs would have given out. Looking up at James, she could see the fear in his eyes. His face was pale and his grip on Harry was so tight that his knuckles were turning white and Harry was whimpering. Getting up quickly, Lily took Harry from James, who then just crumpled onto the floor.

"My best friends… my brothers…" He whispered, his head falling in his hands. "What are we going to do? We have to save them! I have to save them!" Jumping up so fast he startled both Lily and Harry, James rushed over to the fire place and started speaking rapidly to Alice.

"Where are Frank and Dumbledore? Having proof that the raids are just a ploy to distract us, Dumbledore must be planning something! He _has_ to be! He can't just leave them there! He will sentence them to death!"

Pausing for a breath, James waited for Alice's reply, which was quick in coming. "Dumbledore and Frank are at Hogwarts, hiding in the Shrieking Shack. Apparently, it's perfect for housing a prisoner because it already had chains and magical suppressants inside. But I'm not sure if they are planning anything yet, or are back to questioning the Death Eater. Frank said Dumbledore paused long enough to send a patronus to Moody. As soon as Moody arrived, Frank rushed here to tell me so that I could floo call you. James, what are you doing?" Alice asked, watching as James rushed out of the room. He was back in two seconds with his black cloak in his hands.

"I'm going to Hogwarts. I'll be damned if I let Dumbledore waste this opportunity to save my friends. They would do the same for me. I need them, and I will not let them die!"

"And you would just abandon your wife and child while they need you too?" Alice shot back, scathingly. "You-Know-Who himself has them, James! Are you willing to risk leaving your wife a widow and your son fatherless? What would they do if something happened to you? Are you going to abandon your family to save your friends?"

"My friends are my family!" James roared. Turning to Lily, who was holding a teary Harry, his gaze softened, and he looked sorry but determined. "Lily, I'm sorry. But they need me. You know where the will is and the goblins have their orders. I can't let Sirius and Remus be stuck in Voldemort's clutches. He will kill them."

Alice just made a noise of disgust and turned away, disconnecting the call. Lily looked at her husband, for the first time really seeing him. His love for his friends is what drew her to him after so many years of hating him. But now she could see that he would always love his friends more than he loved her. That wasn't a bad thing; Lily actually admired that kind of bond. But should he have that kind of bond with his wife? How could he be leaving to save his friends and risk leaving her and Harry? She wanted Remus and Sirius safe too, no matter how mad she was at Sirius. But James was willing to risk everything to save his brothers, his fellow Marauders. Lily knew there was nothing that could change his mind to keep him at home.

"Go, James. Nothing I can say will help keep you here where you belong. Go rescue Sirius and Remus, and, for your own sake, you better come back safe. Leaving Harry without a father is not an option, you hear me? You just better be-"

Whatever else Lily was going to say was cut off when James rushed up and kissed her with everything he had. They both knew that there was a very real chance that James would not come back. Harry was getting squished in the middle of the two, but was just giggling. He didn't realize the danger his dad would come to face trying to bring back his uncles. He was just happy that his parents were together.

Without another word or glance, James strode over to the fireplace and tossed some Floo powder in. The flames had barely turned green when James stepped in and shouted his destination. He was spinning off before the tears had started to fall from Lily's eyes.

"I hope your father is safe, Harry," She whispered softly, holding Harry tightly. "For all of our sakes, I hope he is safe."

* * *

><p>James had just stumbled out of the Floo in the Headmaster's office, when he was met with the grim faces of Dumbledore and Frank.<p>

"Why didn't you tell me, Dumbledore?!" James yelled, with his hand on his wand. "How dare you not tell me that you heard about Padfoot and Moony! And then to find out that you aren't even planning a rescue team! Who are you to condemn my friends to death? Get them out of there, or I will! And I guarantee that if I have to go get them on my own, when I get back I will move my family so far away from Britain that you will never have a chance of finding us. We will leave you to deal with this mess on your own, Britain be damned!"

James saw the flash of fear in Dumbledore's eyes before he looked away. He didn't want the old man reading his mind, after all. But he knew that Dumbledore could tell that he wasn't bluffing. And that was all James needed.

"Calm down, James. There is no need to be so worried. I was in the process of gathering a party, but we still have the problem of not knowing where they are. How can we save them if we don't know their location?" Dumbledore asked gently, with that damn twinkle in his eye.

"Don't pull that crap with me, Dumbledore," James growled, hearing Frank gasp softly in the background. He had forgotten the other man was there, in his rage. "I know you have ways of finding anyone! You damn well better use them, because if I lose another member of my family, I will make doubly sure what is left is protected, even if I have to move to the moon to do it!"

Dumbledore could sense that the man in front of him was mad and not making idle threats. The thought of losing one of the children of the prophecy was too much for the older man. With an uttered "I'll be right back," Dumbledore left the office, going into his private quarters. James and Frank waited there for what seemed like hours, before Dumbledore reemerged.

"All my sources are pointing towards the known location of a muggle town called 'Little Hangleton'. We can apparate there, and try to figure out where they are located. I will tell you that this will not be easy; quite the opposite. It will be very difficult and dangerous. You do have a family at home. Are you sure about this?"

"My friends are my family!" James repeated what he had told Alice not even a hour ago. "I need them for my family to be complete."

"Well, let us be off. No time to waste," Dumbledore acquiesced, holding open the door to his office.

* * *

><p>Sirius and Remus were sitting in the same room Voldemort had left them in. The Death Eaters were taking their entertainment by watching the Remus drool over the food that was placed right out of their reach. Remus was breathing very hard, and the gag wasn't helping any. If Sirius wasn't still sitting there like a sack of potatoes, he would have been able to see the wild gleam in his eye. He didn't even bother telling the Death Eaters that it wasn't a smart idea to piss off a werewolf this close to the full moon. Remus almost felt that he wouldn't feel guilty if he was able to attack one of the Death Eaters. Almost, though.<p>

Sirius was still just sitting there, drool dripping down the corner of his gags. His eyes were blank, without the usual spark that made Sirius, Sirius. Remus had tried to get his friend to look his way, even going so far as to try to kick him with a partially free foot. But nothing could bring Sirius's gaze back to Remus's, and Remus felt nothing ever would.

All of a sudden, the room hushed as the door that Voldemort exited through was opened once more. Voldemort strode through and settled himself back in his chair ('It really should be called a throne,' Remus thought with a snort) before speaking.

"Bring forward the creature and the blood traitor."

Remus felt himself being levitated again, and watched as the same was done to Sirius. He started sweating, and he could feel the wolf inside him howling, wanting to come out. The wolf knew that it's only choice was fight or flight and it was ready to fight until its dying breath.

"Last chance, gentlemen. Join me or die," Voldemort waited, knowing very well that the prisoners before him (or was it prisoner now? After all, nothing was going to bring back Black) were never going to join him. "Very well then, have it your way. The blood traitor first."

Voldemort raised his wand towards Sirius, feeling his Death Eaters anticipation and eagerness for bloodshed. He paused as he felt a tingling sensation, but Voldemort just past it off as excitement of the kill. Readying himself, Voldemort started to say the most feared incantation known to all wizard kind.

"Avada-"

"NO!"

In a flash of light, Dumbledore, Frank, James, Moody, and other Order members appeared. James headed right for Sirius and Remus. The Death Eaters were slow in responding, but were soon shouting out the killing curse towards any target not in dark robes. Dumbledore and the Order tried to encircle their two fallen comrades but were soon engulfed in one-on-one battles. James couldn't see straight, trying to make his best friend meet his eyes. Deep down he knew it was hopeless, that Sirius was gone, but James just couldn't accept it. He turned his tear streaked face towards Remus.

"James! I'm sorry! I tried. I tried to save him, but Voldemort did it!" Remus was screaming through his gag, but James couldn't understand him. Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Voldemort was engulfed in a personal battle with Dumbledore. While his eyes were turned, a streak of red hit Sirius, and blood started pouring out of his nose and mouth. James screamed, turning with the cutting curse on his lips.

"James! Stop playing around and get those two out of here!" Came Moody's gruff yell from across the room. James turned back and strapped a portkey to Sirius's chest and watched him disappear, hoping his best mate would survive. He turned back to Remus, taking out the other portkey. He was just getting ready to place it on the ropes holding his mate hostage to send him to safety, when he saw a sickly green light heading towards Remus. Without even thinking about it, James jumped right in front of the light, using his speed to place the escape portkey on his friend's chest. Without a word, Remus disappeared, franticly not knowing if James was okay or not.

"Fall out!" Moody shouted to everyone. He saw the entire exchange, and rushed to grab James's wrist before he activated his own portkey. The eerie scream of a raging Voldemort was the last thing he heard before he reappeared in the field of Hogwarts, where the wards ended. Poppy had an entire medical tent set up, waiting to treat the wounded. Moody had time to see the red and white sheet covering a body and closed his eyes in respect to the fallen. The only other portkey that activated before Remus's was Sirius's. Sirius was dead.

Poppy was already grabbing James's body out of his grasp, but Moody held little hope. Poppy scanned James, before looking up at Dumbledore with tears in her eyes and shaking her head. Dumbledore sighed before addressing the group.

"Someone contact Lily. James and Sirius are dead."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What did you think? I know it was a whammy, double deaths, and both major characters. But this is the way that I envisioned the story going. Nothing else would have worked for what I have planned. Let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I can't express how sorry I am that this update took so long. *cough a year cough* I could give you a bunch of bull reasons on why it took so long, but it boils down to life getting in the way of this. I thought about posting a note stating that I hadn't abandoned this story, but I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up of a new chapter only to find a stupid note. I do promise I will not abandon this story, even if it takes a year between updates. Read on, and tell me how horrible it is.

* * *

><p>Lily was still in shock. It had been five months since James was murdered in the raid that saved Remus's life. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she looked at her son playing with Remus on the floor. Every time the door opened, Harry looked up with a sparkle in his eyes and 'dada' on his lips. He didn't understand that his father wasn't coming home, and why should he have to? No child should have to know what it means to lose a parent until they are parents themselves.<p>

The fact that her husband and friend (no matter what Black had done, Lily had still considered him a friend to some degree) died a week before Halloween made the holidays that much harder for Lily. She still had to pretend for Harry, and now she was trying to fill the roles of two parents. It was on auto pilot that Lily and Remus reset the Fidelius Charm and made herself secret keeper.

Halloween was just passed over as another day, and Lily thanked her lucky stars that Harry was still too young to know much about trick-or-treating. He didn't even miss it. But Christmas was definitely hard. Being stuck in the house didn't make for much celebration either way, but with James gone, it was even harder. Again, Harry didn't really know what the day was, but Lily still gave him presents all the same. It wouldn't be right not to. Remus had helped to decorate a small tree for Harry.

Remus, bless his heart, was staying at the house with Lily and Harry. He was doing all he could to make things easier for Lily, while the wolf side of him was desperate to protect what remained of his pack. At first, he had fallen into a deep depression, but Lily would not allow him to remain in it. He blamed himself for not being able to save Sirius and James, and didn't want to hear that it wasn't his fault. Even though he had the magical ropes suppressing his superior strength, Remus was still convinced there was something he could have done. That full moon that had followed his rescue was particularly painful, in the fact that his friends were not there to help him keep his sanity.

In the end Lily had to resort to using the same guilt that was eating away at Remus to snap him out of it. After the first several days, after Lily had (not completely) digested the news of her husband's death, she heard about Remus holding himself up and not talking to anyone. She stormed into the Shrieking Shack, for that was where Remus was hiding himself, and started screaming at him and crying at the same time. She had said things along the lines of Remus forgetting that he still had family left, and that he wasn't at fault for James dying, but if he thought he was, why wasn't he trying to make sure that Harry was still safe? She yelled that Remus was being selfish in trying to take all the blame, because she was to blame herself. Why didn't she keep James home that night? But if she had, then Remus would be dead instead. How could she choose between her husband and her best friend?

Lily had gone on for a while, until she didn't make sense anymore. Remus was so shocked at seeing Lily in front of him (why would she want to see the man who was responsible for her husband's death?) that her words didn't process right away. But when they did sink in, Remus jumped up in a rage, and told Lily in no uncertain terms that she wasn't to blame! How could she have known what would happen?

Lily turned it right back around on him. It wasn't his fault anymore than it was her fault. Then, she grabbed Remus in a vice-like hug, and they both cried together at their mutual loss. It was the first and last time Lily had left Harry with someone else longer than it took her to go to the loo.

Ever since, Remus hasn't let either of them leave his sight often, either. He hung around the house, making sure that Lily was eating, playing with Harry, and helping to do what he could do for the Order from the house. He refused when Dumbledore asked him to go on another mission, and it wasn't because he was frightened by what had happened. He just wasn't going to leave Lily and Harry alone again. He knew he was the only male figure in Harry's life now, and protecting his family meant more to him than bringing down Voldemort. He wasn't going to leave on some half-cocked mission and possibly leave Lily and Harry alone again. While Remus knew that he owed his life to James, part of him couldn't believe that he had left his family to rescue his friends. James knew that when he left, he may not be coming home. Maybe it's the wolf in Remus, but he wouldn't have been able to leave his wife and son, knowing that something could happen to them while he was gone. But that same spirit was also what made James the great friend he was. You could always count on him to be there for you.

Sighing, Lily pushed herself out of the chair and walked over to Harry and Remus. Harry was getting so big. His birthday was in a few months, and Lily couldn't believe that he would be two. He was already using hundreds of different words, and could even complete a simple sentence. His favorite was, "Mama, eat!" while rubbing his stomach. Harry looked up and smiled at his mother, and Lily had to stop more tears from falling. That smile was the spitting image of James's innocent look.

"Mama, eat!" Harry giggled, rubbing his stomach to make his point known. Lily couldn't help but smile a bit at that. Remus was smiling as well.

"Are you hungry, Harry?" Lily asked, picking the boy up.

Harry giggled and nodded. Lily walked with him back into the kitchen, while Remus was picking up the toys in the living room. Lily started looking through the cupboards, noticing how bare they were. Sighing, she set Harry down in his high chair and Lily started making a list. Remus walked through the doors and sat down next to her.

"That time again?" He asked, watching her write down things they needed.

"Unfortunately. I can't believe how much Harry is eating now. I know he's a growing boy, but I think he eats more than me sometimes!"

Remus laughed before replying, "James could always eat more than his share. It stands to reason that Harry would be the same. Oh, Lily, I'm sorry." Remus apologized at seeing the hurt look cross over Lily's face. "I didn't bring him up for bad memories; I just can't not talk about him. I think we need to talk about him more, for our own sake and Harry's."

"I know you're right, Remus," Lily sighed, her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears, "But I can't let go. I can't stop thinking that he's going to walk through the door any minute. I know that we were fighting more the last few months, but he was still my husband and I still loved him. He promised to always be there for us."

"And he still is, Lily. He is always watching over you and Harry. Look at your son; he _is_ his father in a million different ways. James will always be with you."

"Oh, Remus!" Lily cried out. "What would I do without you here?! What would Harry do?"

"Apparently, you would both starve!" Remus said with a chuckle, trying to lighten up the situation. "We need to go food shopping. Now, who's up for a trip?"

* * *

><p>"I love getting out of the house!" Lily exclaimed, swinging her temporarily dyed blond hair over her shoulders. She looked down at Harry's auburn hair and gave a smile. Having to change their appearances when they left the protection of the house was a bit of trouble, but Lily refused to be stuck in the house longer than a couple weeks at a time. She needed to get out once in a while in order to keep her sanity.<p>

"I'm glad you're happy, Lily," a red-haired Remus said while walking next to her. He felt, as usual, a little anxious because they were outside the protection of the house, but knew better than to try and hurry Lily on. He did understand that she hated being cooped up, but the wolf in him wanted his pack at home where they are the safest. It did help that they stuck to the muggle world for the most part, which he found comforting.

"Alright, let's get started. What's first on the list?" Lily asked, as she settled Harry into a shopping cart.

"Bread."

"Okay, that is this way."

And so the shopping trip went. Lily would ask what was on the list, Remus would reply, and Harry would just amuse himself watching all of the food going into the car. It would make Remus and Lily laugh as Harry made his opinion known on a few of the meal choices. When cabbage was added to the cart, Harry scrunched up his nose and complained, "Bad lettuce!"

They were almost done when Lily rounded one aisle and went to head into the next, hitting the other cart heading out of next aisle. Both carts were jostled and Lily was too concerned making sure that Harry was alright before she turned her attention onto the person in front of her.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't look before I started to….."

Lily trailed off as she got an actual look at the person in front of her. While dressed like a normal muggle, there was no mistaking the face of the person in front of her. She would recognize him anywhere. Especially with that nose and the ever present scowl on his face. But why was he here?

"Severus?" the blond haired woman whispered.

The man whipped his head up from patting the wrinkled out of his shirt, surprise registering on his face only for an instant, before the scowl was back. He watched as the woman blushed and turned away. While her partner was helping her to straighten herself out and check to make sure the babe in the cart was alright, he peered at her through narrowed eyes. She didn't look familiar, but then how would she know his name? No wizards that he knew of would stoop so low as to shop in Muggle London. But he was certain he hadn't misheard. And that voice…. He knew that voice.

"Excuse me, but do I know you?" He finally asked, when it was clear that she wasn't going to speak.

Lily just stared up at him, and Remus was no help either. Remus couldn't believe that they ran into Snape of all people in London. They hadn't heard anything of him since that night he disappeared. It took a minute to remember that Severus was a half-blood so would know very well how to blend in with muggles. Remus did think of the other man from time to time, especially when thinking back on how all of this started. He had only hoped the other man was content, where ever he was. Realizing a bit too late that Snape was waiting for an answer, Remus gave Lily a nudge with his elbow. She blinked and shook her head before responding.

"I'm sorry, that was terribly rude of me. I do apologize that I ran into you. I didn't look before turning the corner. I do hope that you are alright."

"Yes, yes, I am fine," Severus responded, a bit curt. "And I can see that you and yours are fine as well. If that is all, have a pleasant day." With that said, he turned on his heel, and continued back down the aisle.

* * *

><p>Watching her friend walk away, ignorant of whom he had just shared a conversation with, Lily just let out a sigh. Harry was amusing himself with trying to grab the closest items, in this case boxes of biscuits, and throw them in the cart. The crash didn't seem to faze the child in the least. He looked at his mother and gave a toothy grin.<p>

"Mama, eat!" Harry squealed, trying to push the box into his mother's hands.

"Not now, Harry," Lily sighed, putting the box back on the shelf. Remus wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Are you okay, Lils?"

"I just have wondered how he was doing. With everything else going on," here her eyes got a bit misty "I put Severus on the back burner. I'm glad to see that he looks alright. Or at least like his usual self. I'm such a horrid friend. He is better off without me. I wish he would just let some correspondence through his wards. I do so miss him."

Remus hated seeing his friend looking so sad. He gave her a one-armed hug, and helped to get things moving again.

"Come on Lily. Let's get this finished and the food home. Don't forget that Gringotts's is still waiting for your response as to when you are available to go to the bank. They are anxious to get everything back in order."

Groaning, Lily resumed pushing the cart. She had forgotten all about the goblins. While James's will was a closed reading that had taken place two weeks after he had passed, Lily had talked to the goblins about updating her will to reflect the fact that her husband had passed. Talking it over with Remus, Lily knew how she wanted her will to now read. She knew that she wanted Remus to have complete custody of Harry if anything where to happen to her. Beyond that, everything went to Harry. There was no one else alive that Lily felt needed anything. However, the goblins insisted that she have at least two guardians listed for Harry, to be prepared for any situation.

"You're right, Remus. Come on, Harry. Let's finish getting the food we need so you don't starve. Merlin knows with the way you've been eating, this food will be gone in a day." With that said, Lily continued pushing the cart down the aisle.

* * *

><p>Watching the blond haired woman walk away, Severus couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his chest. While he wasn't close enough to hear the couple's conversation, he did make out a couple words, such as goblins and Merlin. Confident that the two were magical, three if you counted the child, Severus couldn't help but wonder why they were shopping in Muggle London. The feeling that he knew the woman wouldn't leave him be. Shaking his head, Severus continued on his way, telling himself that he didn't know the woman.<p>

After putting his groceries away at his home, it finally dawned on Severus why the woman seemed familiar. She reminded him of Lily. The way she walked, the way she stammered out an apology, even the way she blushed. He let out a sigh. He didn't allow himself to think about Lily often, telling himself she was better off with her husband and child. He tried his best to put the magical world, and everyone in it behind him. The only magicals he kept in touch with were the wizards who bought his potions to resell.

But why did the thought of his red-haired friend bring such happiness and pain? Why did he get the feeling that thinking of her wouldn't get easier with time?

* * *

><p>AN: Tell me what you think. Sorry again for the extremely long wait for this update. But I haven't given up. And I hope you won't give up on me.


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